Leave Him
by closeto30
Summary: Steve Jinks and Claudia Donovan. Clinks. The second A team. BFFEWYLION. She's the best part of him, but Steve never stopped to think how their lives would change when another man came into Claudia's life, and it's harder for him to take than he could ever admit. But will he ever be able to tell her the truth?
1. Chapter 1

Steve Jinks wasn't quite sure when being a babysitter became an accepted part of being a Warehouse 13 agent, but as was becoming the norm, Steve once again found himself cradling a sleeping Lattimer child against his shoulder as he read through historical file notes. If Steve was perfectly honest, he actually enjoyed caring for Pete and Myka's children. The twins were only eight months old, but they had already formed quite the attachment to their Uncle Steve. Claudia had labelled Steve the baby whisperer after only he had been able to soothe both boys to sleep one night after hours of endless screaming, and Myka and Pete agreed Steve had a special touch. Baby George made a soft whimpering noise against Steve's shoulder, and Steve lifted his hand from his computer mouse to softly rub the baby's back. Across the office, Myka looked up from where she stood studying replicas of artifacts stored throughout the Warehouse. George's brother, Holden, was perched on her hip, his chubby fingers tangled in his mother's curls.

"Everything ok over there?" Myka asked softly, and Steve rotated slowly in his chair so that he could give Myka a reassuring smile.

"We're just dreaming," he grinned, and Myka smiled in response.

"Myka, a little focus here please," Artie grunted from his seat next to Myka. Myka rolled her eyes good-naturedly at Steve as she turned her attention back to the items spread out on the table before her, and Steve chuckled to himself. Myka's first pregnancy, with daughter Scout, had come as a surprise to them all. The strong and independent woman had been determined to carry on as normal, and her intention had been to stay a field agent for as long as possible, but that plan had hit a bump very early on when Myka had found herself in the line of fire from an artifact-affected gunman, and Pete had nearly gotten himself killed trying to save her. After that incident, Myka had begrudgingly taken up post as Artie's right hand, and the Warehouse survived on a three person field agent roster through her pregnancy. The team had barely gotten back into a regular rotation after Scout's arrival when Myka discovered that she was pregnant again, but they were all surprised when it was Artie, and not Pete, who put his foot down and demanded that Myka step back from field duties. Having decided that he was finally on the track towards retirement, Artie and the Regents agreed that it was necessary for a new senior agent to be trained, and even before her pregnancies, Myka had been the natural fit for the position. It soon became clear that they required a replacement field agent, and it wasn't long before the Regents presented them with FBI agent Colton Reed. Claudia and Steve had met Colton while on a case months before and had taken an instant dislike to him. He was arrogant, rarely went without his aviator sunglasses, and his willingness to cut corners at every turn had caused them to lose their target three times before they'd finally gotten their snag and bag. They'd barely given him another thought after that, but they had not reacted well when he'd arrived at the Warehouse. Steve's usual calm and collected demeanour disappeared whenever Colton was around, and Claudia's snark multiplied tenfold. This continued for months, despite several reprimands from both Artie and a cranky and sleep-deprived Myka. Colton's attitude drove Team Clinks (as Claudia had christened them) crazy, and even when they were on a case miles away from him, they would spend hours relentlessly mocking him. This changed sometime around the point of the arrival of the Lattimer twins. Claudia had been playing one of her regular sets at the coffee house in Univille when Colton had appeared and then surprised Claudia by joining her on stage to sing 'The First Cut is the Deepest'. Having shown his softer side, Colton slowly won Claudia over, to the point where Claudia started to tell Steve to ease off on the nasty comments. Steve was not so easily swayed, and it still took all of his energy to not curl his lip in disgust whenever Colton was around. Even thinking about him in that moment was making Steve grumpy, and he pressed his nose against George's head to take in his soothing baby scent.

"Daddy should be back soon," Myka spoke in response to the babbling squeals Holden was emitting from his perch in his mother's arms. She was unsuccessfully trying to remove her hair from her son's fingers.

"You should be asleep, like your brother," Artie chided, pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. He prised Holden's fingers open and removed the baby from Myka's arms before he had the chance to retain his chubby grasp. Holden let out an excited burble and reached for Artie's glasses, much to Myka's bemusement. She stepped lightly across the office space and reached out to relieve Steve of his babysitting duties.

"Hey, we're ok," Steve told her. Myka pouted, but her protest was cut off when the door to the umbilicus swung open, revealing Pete carrying a container of neutraliser, with Colton bringing up the rear.

"Honey, I'm home," Pete sang, sauntering into the office and placing the container he carried on Artie's desk before sliding his arms around Myka's waist. He pressed his lips against her cheek.

"Miss me?" he asked hopefully, resting his chin on her shoulder. Myka quickly kissed his temple before freeing herself from his hold.

"Your son has a dirty diaper," she informed Pete, who wrinkled his nose as he glanced towards Steve and George.

"Not us," Steve said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it's definitely this one," Colton spoke up with a chuckle from where he stood next to Artie. He was distracting Holden from Artie's glasses by waving the strings of his hoodie in front of the baby.

"Is somebody a poopypants?" Pete teased, causing Steve to cringe.

"Guys, can I please remind you that Poopypants is still currently one of my many in-use nicknames?" he whined.

"One that totally still applies," Claudia quipped as she breezed into the office through the door that led to the Warehouse floor. Scout toddled in behind her, a purple cape wrapped around her shoulders and glitter sparkling in her brunette curls.

"Daddy!" the two year old cried excitedly, dropping the lollipop she carried and hurrying towards Pete as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Hey, there's my girl!" Pete and Colton exclaimed in unison, both of them opening their arms wide. Scout flung herself into Pete's arms, while Claudia more elegantly folded herself into Colton's embrace.

"You're all sticky," Pete commented as Scout placed her hands on her father's face.

"I had candy," Scout told him nonchalantly, causing a frown to form on Myka's face.

"Little snitch," Claudia huffed with a grin, glancing at Myka. "It was one lollipop, which I might add is currently on the floor."

"Ok, time for a Lattimer team clean up," Pete declared, sliding Scout to the floor and taking Holden from Artie. He herded Scout towards the staircase, which the toddler took on all fours. Rolling her eyes, Myka finally relieved Steve of George and followed her family upstairs. Colton sank into Artie's desk chair and pulled Claudia down into his lap, stroking her cheek as he kissed her gently.

"You taste like cotton candy," he commented, and Claudia grinned.

"Yeah, it was totally more than one lollipop," she admitted, kissing Colton again. Steve felt his mood instantly darken as the pair continued to canoodle in front of him, and he clenched his teeth together as he fought to stop himself from growling. Colton and Claudia had been together as a couple for nearly six months, but while Claudia's affections for the FBI agent grew, Steve could honestly say that he found Colton more irritating than ever. Steve's hackles rose if Colton even breathed in his direction, though for Claudia's sake he did his best to try and hide it. Claudia claimed that they were still Team Clinks, and that he was still her BFFEWYLION, but of course things had changed between them. They weren't in each other's pockets 24/7 anymore, and Steve was no longer the one that Claudia ran to for comfort or when she was excited about something. Steve hated that he'd lost her even just a little, but the fact that it was to Colton Reed made the feeling almost unbearable. He felt his blood start to boil as Colton slid his hand up Claudia's denim-clad leg, and when Claudia emitted a low moan, Steve cleared his throat as loudly as possible. Artie looked up from the table he was tidying up at the sound.

"You two, out of my chair!" he barked, stomping across the office as Claudia and Colton scrambled to their feet. Artie glared at them as he pushed his chair back under his desk.

"This chair is set to my precise specifications," he lectured, causing Claudia to roll her eyes.

"Yes, to accommodate your geriatric needs," she snarked, entwining her fingers with Colton's as she ignored Artie's dark look. Colton was trying unsuccessfully not to snigger.

"Come on," Claudia said, tugging on Colton's hand as she pulled him towards the door. "I have something fun to show you."

Steve barely heard Artie's grumbles as he watched Colton follow Claudia out of the office. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on the desk so that he could rest his chin on his hands, but even though he was staring at his computer screen, he wasn't seeing the words in front of him. All he could think was that he couldn't remember the last time Claudia had smiled at him the way she smiled at Colton, and how that actually hurt him more than he liked to admit.

* * *

The afternoon they'd spent together in Paris almost three years earlier would forever be etched in Steve's memory. Claudia and Steve had followed a ping to the Louvre, and even they had been surprised when the artifact swap-out had been an easy task. They'd been in a playful headspace that day. It had only been a few weeks since the Warehouse had threatened to shut down around them, and even though that scare had passed, all of the Warehouse agents were still trying to emotionally regain their footing. It was of course Claudia who suggested that they tell Artie that their flight had been delayed, so that they could take advantage of the perfect Parisian fall day. She'd looked so hopeful that Steve had been unable to protest, much to Claudia's delight. They'd gathered baguettes and cheese, chocolate and strawberries, and even a cheap bottle of sparkling wine, and settled onto the grassy slope in front of the Eiffel Tower, spreading out their picnic in the warm afternoon sun.

"This is perfect," Claudia declared, stretching her legs out in front of her and reclining back on the grass. "Best idea ever."

Steve couldn't help but smile as he popped open the wine and poured a plastic cupful for first Claudia and then himself. Claudia sat up and accepted her cup, then clicked it against Steve's.

"To BFFs," she murmured with a smile, and Steve winked at her before taking a sip. Claudia craned her neck around the gaze up at the towering landmark behind them.

"So this is one of the most romantic places in the world," she mused.

"I'd wager there's about seven guys up there right now, sweating over the exact right moment to propose," Steve quipped, reaching over to break apart the fresh bread they'd purchased. Claudia's lips twitched in a half smile, and she munched a piece of chocolate for a while before reaching for the strawberries. Her eyes widened with joy as soon as she took a bite.

"Oh my goddess, Jinksy, these are amazing!" she exclaimed. "You have to try these." She picked up a berry and held it out. Without hesitation, Steve leaned forward and allowed her to feed him.

"Mmm, that is good," Steve acknowledged, using his fingers to wipe away the juice the dripped from his lower lip. Watching him through her eyelashes, Claudia dropped the top of the strawberry back in the punnet and leaned back on her heels. She turned her face skyward and blew her bangs out of her eyes. Leaning back on one elbow, Steve studied her curiously.

"You ok, Claud?" he asked. Claudia picked at the chipped nail polish on her thumbnail as she chewed on her lower lip.

"Steve, I want to tell you something," she said softly. Steve raised his eyebrows.

"Claud?" he asked hesitantly, and Claudia let out a shaky breath.

"I love you," she murmured. Steve's concerned expression relaxed into softness.

"I love you too," he told her. Claudia groaned in exasperation.

"I don't think you understand," she tried again. "Steve, I'm in love with you. I always have been."

Steve's face slackened, and he pushed himself upright as he stared at her.

"Claudia," he whispered. Claudia was staring at him pleadingly, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Please say you love me back," she begged, her lower lip trembling. Steve stared down at his hands before looking back up at her.

"Claud, where is this coming from?" he murmured. Claudia whimpered his name in reply. Pain was etched across her face, and Steve instinctively wanted to pull her close, but right in that moment, it clearly was not the right move.

"Claudia, I'm gay," he stated softly. "That hasn't changed."

"I know!" Claudia exclaimed unhappily, pulling forcefully at the blades of grass around her knees. "I just thought..."

"Claudia," Steve breathed. "Sweetheart."

"Damn it," Claudia squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut in distress. Despite her best efforts, a tear worked its way free and trickled down her face. Steve couldn't just let her sit there while she radiated pain, and he quickly moved to her side so that he could wrap his arms around her. Claudia let out a sob as she pressed her face against his chest.

"I shouldn't have said anything," she sniffled, her voice muffled by Steve's t-shirt. "I'm sorry. I'm an idiot."

"Hey, you are not an idiot," Steve protested, lifting her face so that he could look into her eyes. He used his thumb to wipe her tears off her cheek.

"What's going on, Claud?" he asked softly.

"No one's ever going to love me," Claudia whimpered unhappily, and Steve's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Why would you say that?" he exclaimed. Claudia sighed, and her lower lip wobbled slightly.

"Pete and Myka are so happy together," she whined. "I mean, it's kind of disgusting really, but they're really sweet. They're in love, Jinksy. And I look at them, and I just keep thinking..."

"That you'll never find someone like that," Steve finished with a sigh. Claudia let out a shuddering breath as she sank back down on the grass.

"Where am I possibly going to find someone like that?" she asked forlornly. "I lost Todd to witness protection, and Doug met Holly, and then there's you, Jinks." She reached out and entwined her fingers with Steve.

"It's always been you," Claudia murmured. "You're my soulmate." A fresh tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life."

"Claudia, you are the without doubt the most amazing person I have ever met," Steve said gently, giving Claudia's hand a strong squeeze. "There's someone out there for you, I promise. It'll happen when you least expect it, and when it does, you're going to wonder why you ever thought it could be otherwise."

"Ugh, Steve, your pep talk is like one giant cliché," Claudia moaned, leaning her cheek against Steve's shoulder. Steve scowled at the top of her head.

"I'm never going to leave you alone, Claud," he murmured. "You're my soulmate too."

Claudia lifted her head and rested her chin on his shoulder. Steve kissed her forehead.

"I do love you," he told her softly. Claudia managed a rueful smile.

"Just not the way I want you to," she said forlornly, a shuddering sigh escaping from her.

"I'll never leave you alone," Steve repeated. "It's you and me against the world, Claud."


	2. Chapter 2

The last person Steve wanted to see when he came down to breakfast of a morning was Colton, but more often than not it seemed that fate was determined to give Steve the worst start to the day possible. Colton looked up from his bowl of cereal as Steve paused in the doorway of the dining room.

"Hey man," he said nonchalantly, and Steve grunted in reply. He forlornly surveyed the scene in front of him. Abigail had never really gotten the hang of catering, but since she'd left on dedicated Regent business the year before, the food situation at the B&B had become a rather dire affair. Spread out on the table in front of Colton were three crumpled cereal boxes, the milk carton, and what looked to be an empty box of strawberry Pop-tarts.

"Where is everyone?" Steve asked.

"I believe," Colton started, swallowing his mouthful of Lucky Charms, "that Myka and Pete are currently wrangling with their small people." As if on cue, a loud thump sounded from upstairs, followed by a hysterical shrieking wail. Colton rolled his eyes before he continued.

"One of Claud's pager things started beeping this morning," he said. "I think Artie touched the computer network or something. I don't know, Claud started freaking out and she started talking in code and her face did that thing where it looks like her head's going to explode, and she took the last Pop-tart and headed to the Warehouse."

Colton's description of Claudia was dead-on, and if it had come from anyone else Steve would probably have laughed or at least smiled, but because it was Colton all Steve could muster up with a loud exhalation. He sank into a chair across the table and reached for the box of Cheerios.

"Hey Jinks?" Colton spoke up as Steve filled his bowl. Steve lifted his eyes and gave Colton a glowering look.

"Yes?" he answered evenly. Colton was either ignoring his tone or was oblivious to the contempt.

"What do you think about us doing a partner swap?" he asked, and Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"I think it's never going to happen," he said quickly.

"Claudia and I were just talking about it last night," Colton pressed. "Come on dude, it'll be fun."

"I said, it's never going to happen," Steve repeated sharply. "Artie will never authorise it. Technically, you're still in training, and Claudia doesn't even have a badge."

"Yeah, but I do," Colton shot back. Steve let out an exasperated breath.

"Artie doesn't let couples go out in the field together," he told Colton.

"Myka and Pete were out in the field together for years!" Colton exclaimed.

"Myka and Pete weren't a couple for years!" Steve cried. "And once they were, they became the reason Artie doesn't let couples out in the field together."

"He'd go for it if you said you were ok with it," Colton pointed out, dropping his spoon into his empty bowl.

"Well, I'm not, so forget it," Steve growled, reaching for the milk carton. When he upended the carton, a few drips of milk were all that fell into his bowl.

"Oh, well now that's just perfect!" Steve snapped sarcastically, just as Pete entered the dining room with Scout at his side.

"Breakfast time!" Pete announced, and Steve shook his head as he got to his feet.

"Only if you want to enjoy your Cheerios dry," he grunted, giving Colton a dirty look. "We're out of milk."

Pete's face fell.

"Oh come on, man!" he whined. "I never thought that I would say this in relation to food, but I miss Abigail."

Steve was already pulling his car keys out of his pocket.

"I'll stop at the bakery on the way to the Warehouse," he said to Pete. "By the time you and Myka get the kids there, I'll have pastries and bread ready and waiting."

"You are an excellent friend," Pete grinned, reaching down and hoisting Scout into his arms. "Come on short stuff, let's see if there's a least a jar of baby food for your brothers to share."

"Hey, can I get a ride?" Colton asked Steve as Pete carried Scout into the kitchen. Steve gave him a put-on look and indicated the mess on the dining room table.

"You," he said darkly, "can clean this up. And then you can drive yourself to work."

Colton got to his feet and executed a neat military salute.

"Aye aye, captain," he quipped, a sneer forming on his face. "God, Claudia's right about you. You really are a poopypants."

"Don't you ever call me that again!" Steve snapped, pointing a warning finger in Colton's direction.

"Yeah, whatever, man," Colton muttered dismissively, picking up his bowl and heading for the kitchen. Steve stood in the doorway and seethed as Colton disappeared from his view, and then shook his head in disgust as he stormed out of the B&B, slamming the front door behind him as he left.

* * *

A few days later, Claudia was still complaining about Artie's refusal to consider changing up the partner dynamics.

"I'm a freakin senior agent!" she whined from her perch on a horse stall gate. "I've got more field time up than you, and definitely more than Pete lately. Artie's excuses suck!"

"Claud, do you think we can discuss this later?" Steve squeaked from the back corner of the stall, where he was pressed against the back wall as the giant thoroughbred in front of him snorted and stepped forward again. The horse was worked into an artifact-induced frenzy.

"I haven't seen Colton in three days!" Claudia huffed, stretching her hands above her head so that she could pull herself up to a standing position on the gate. She pulled a screwdriver from her pocket and started working free a rusty horseshoe that was screwed to the nameplate above the door.

"I'm sure he's fine," Steve growled, digging his fingertips into the wall as the horse moved closer to him again. "Any time now, Claudia!"

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses," Claudia snapped, and then sniggered. "See what I did there?"

"You're a regular comic genius," Steve bit out, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she finally removed the horseshoe from the wall, shook out a neutraliser bag, and dropped the artifact inside. A shower of sparks shot up from the bag, and the horse in front of Steve suddenly shook it's head, nickered softly and stepped placidly over to the food barrel on the other side of the stall. Steve gave the animal a wide berth as he scurried out of the stall.

"I still love that horses freak you out," Claudia chuckled. Steve glared at her darkly as he led her out of the barn.

"I'm glad that my terror amuses you," he snarked. "I bet Pete wouldn't do this to me."

"See, all the more reason to switch it up!" Claudia exclaimed as they headed towards their rental car.

"Am I seriously that horrible to work with?" Steve asked, swinging around in the middle of the driveway so that he could face Claudia. The redhead had to quickly slow her stride to stop herself from running straight into Steve's chest. She immediately looked shocked.

"What?" she breathed. "Whoa, Jinksy, this is so not what this about!"

"Sure feels that way," Steve muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Embarrassment registered on Claudia's face.

"I don't want to not work with you," she admitted. "I just want to spend more time with Colton."

Steve screwed up his face as he tried to fight his frustration at the situation.

"Claud, I know I'm not exactly the expert on relationships, and you haven't really got any other example to measure against except for Pete and Myka, but a healthy relationship doesn't usually mean being with the person all of the time," he said to her.

"But I miss him," Claudia pouted, and Steve barely managed to stop himself rolling his eyes.

"That's normal," he told her. "How are you supposed to look forward to seeing someone if you're never apart? Leading separate lives makes coming back together even better."

Claudia's eyes lit up.

"You mean like reunion sex?" she chirped excitedly, and Steve cringed.

"That is so not what I meant," he groaned, but Claudia already had a devious look on her face. Steve attempted to get her attention back the best way he knew how.

"Did you ever stop and think how much this partner swap proposal would hurt my feelings?" he asked softly. Guilt spread across Claudia's features.

"Jinksy," she murmured, and Steve folded his arms across his chest.

"He already gets you whenever we're at home," he said, a trace of sadness evident in his tone. "But out here, in the field, you're my partner, Claud. I know I don't own you, but I thought we were a team. You and me against the world."

Claudia reached up to stroke the stubble on Steve's cheek, her eyes soft.

"Jinksy, I didn't think," she admitted. "I'm so sorry."

Steve grunted.

"Kind of feels like I'm always the last one you think about lately," he murmured.

"That is not true," Claudia said with a wince. "It's just, you know, Colton's my boyfriend, and..." She trailed off sheepishly, and then wrinkled her nose in Steve's direction.

"You know, this would be a hell of a lot easier if you didn't hate Colton so much."

"I don't hate Colton," Steve protested. Claudia gave him a put-on look.

"How many times do I have to remind you that your lie detector doesn't work in reverse?" she quipped. "You are a horrible liar."

Steve huffed out a breath and then set his jaw as he turned and once again headed towards their car. Claudia hurried after him and wedged herself under his arm. Steve instinctively curled his fingers around her shoulder.

"I really need you to like him, Steve," Claudia said. "You're my BFF. It matters to me what you think."

Steve looked down at her earnest face, and all of the bad things that he wanted to say about Colton stopped on the tip of his tongue as he took in the pleading look in her big Bambi eyes.

"Ok, fine," he grunted. "I'll try harder. But if he..."

"Yay!" Claudia squealed, cutting off the end of Steve's sentence as she skipped out from under Steve's arm and leaned against the passenger side door of the car. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Steve unlocked the car, and Claudia climbed into the passenger seat and immediately pulled out her Farnsworth. Pausing for a moment, Steve watched as Claudia yammered excitedly to Colton. He hated that the sight of her so happy made his stomach churn in knots, and he wondered if he could ever really come to like or even just accept the presence of Colton Reed.

* * *

 **A/N: Would love some feedback! xoxo  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Given the location, the lone bar in Univille wasn't exactly a hive of activity, but Colton and Claudia wanted a night out on the town, and Steve hadn't been able to talk him way out of being dragged along. A jukebox in a back corner played a mix of current music and standard bar favourites, a group of men were watching a baseball game on a fuzzy TV screen, and there were a couple of pool games being played in an alcove. Steve perched on a stool at a high table and took a large sip from his beer as he surveyed the room. It really was not a busy night, and he wondered how long he had to stay before he could convince Claudia to let him leave. Lost in thought, he was genuinely startled when Claudia plonked a couple of shot glasses down on the table in front of him.

"Drink," she demanded, hoisting herself up onto the stool beside Steve and reaching for the jug of beer in the middle of the table so that she could fill her own glass. Steve gave the shot glasses a dubious look.

"How many is that now?" he asked, and Claudia shrugged as she picked up one of the shots and shoved it into Steve's hand.

"Lost count," she chirped, picking up the second shot glass. "Now drink."

Steve obeyed and immediately pulled a face as the schnapps burned its way down his throat. Claudia grinned devilishly.

"Good boy," she purred, slamming down her own shot. Steve smirked at her disgusted facial expression.

"Man, it's good to get out," Claudia declared, gazing around the half-empty bar. "I mean, I love the mini Lattimers like they're my own, but you have to admit, it's really nice to not be surrounded by toys and baby bottles for once."

"The lack of crying is actually a little bit disturbing," Steve admitted. "It's like something's missing."

"You are so weird," Claudia smirked, sipping her beer. Steve mimicked her action and then frowned slightly.

"I can't believe I'm asking this, but where's Colton?" he enquired. Claudia's eyes flicked towards the pool table alcove, an unhappy look crossing her face. Steve followed her gaze, and his frown deepened. Colton was demonstrating a pool shot to a young blonde-haired woman dressed in a tiny denim skirt paired with a shiny halter top. He was pressed against the girl, one hand gripping her waist as he leaned against her back to help guide the pool cue into place.

"Apparently I'm not a very good pool partner," Claudia snarked, tugging uncomfortably on her ponytail.

"Claud, if it's bugging you, you need to tell him," Steve said to her, and Claudia shrugged her shoulders again.

"It's not bugging me," she said nonchalantly. Steve winced at the boldfaced lie, and turned his attention back towards the pool alcove, where Colton's new friend was now leaning against the pool table and giggling flirtatiously as Colton told an animated tale. Beside Steve, Claudia chugged her beer down and slammed the glass onto the table.

"We need more shots," she stated, sliding off her stool.

"Claud, wait, no," Steve protested, but his best friend was already halfway to the bar. Steve glanced back towards the pool tables just in time to see Colton reach over to tuck the blonde's hair behind her ear. Growling low in his throat, Steve resisted the urge to give his fellow agent a piece of his mind, and instead climbed off his stool and followed after Claudia to stop her before she started buying up the entire contents of the bar.

* * *

About a week later, Steve was stretched out on his bed reading one of Pete's comic books when he heard thundering footsteps echo up the staircase and past his bedroom. The faint jangling sound of chains that accompanied the hurried steps indicated that the person in question was Claudia, but Steve didn't think much of the noise until he heard the slam of a door, followed quickly by the muffled strains of a song that Steve immediately recognised as one of Claudia's unhappy tunes. Dropping the comic book on the floor, Steve scrambled from his bed and rushed to Claudia's door, where he lightly rapped his knuckles against the wood.

"Go away!" Claudia yelled from the other side of the door. Steve's eyebrows rose in concern, and he reached tentatively for the doorknob. When it turned in his hand, he inched the door open and peered into Claudia's room. Claudia was sprawled out on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. Steve couldn't tell if she was crying, but she was definitely breathing heavily. He slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. At the click of the lock, Claudia looked up from her pillow, her eyes wild.

"I said, leave me alone!" she snapped in the instant before she registered Steve's face. She shoved herself into a sitting position and clasped her hands together.

"Oh, it's you."

"Uh, yeah, it's me," Steve stated, his voice thick with concern. "What's going on, Claud?"

"It's nothing," she murmured dismissively, avoiding his gaze. Steve took a step forward.

"I hardly call door slamming and blasting Placebo nothing," he commented, and Claudia pursed her lips as she slid off her bed and started pacing the room.

"I had a fight with Colton," she admitted, picking at the polish on her fingernails.

"Claudia," Steve breathed softly.

"It's already over," Claudia said, waving her hand around like she was clearing the air of the situation. "It was stupid. I just need some time to cool off."

"You want to talk about it?" Steve offered, and Claudia shook her head.

"No, I'm ok," she murmured, folding her arms across her chest. The movement caused the sleeves of her jacket to ride up, and Steve's eyes widened in horror at the large red mark on Claudia's wrist.

"Jesus, Claudia!" he exclaimed, hurriedly stepping forward to make a grab for her hand. Claudia tucked her arm behind her back before he could reach her.

"What did he do to you?" Steve demanded.

"It's nothing," Claudia insisted, and Steve gave her a disbelieving look.

"Funny, it looks like someone had your arm twisted behind your back," he snapped. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Because if you are..."

"Steve, stop," Claudia pleaded, tugging her sleeve down over her wrist. "Colton just forgot his own strength for a moment. He already apologised. I'm fine."

Steve stared her down for a long while, and Claudia gave him a shaky smile.

"I'm ok, Steve," she whispered. "Everything's ok."

Steve exhaled loudly before he folded her into his arms. Claudia stayed stiff for just a moment longer than normal before she relaxed into his embrace. Steve pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"I swear to Buddha, Claud, if he ever lays a hand on you," he growled, and Claudia huffed out a breath against Steve's chest before she pulled away.

"Steve, you said you'd try to get along with him," she whined, and Steve crossed his arms as he tried to wipe the sneer off his face.

"It's very hard when he pulls crap like this," he muttered, and Claudia wrinkled her nose as she reached over and turned off her iPod.

"What were you doing before I so rudely interrupted you?" she asked. Steve recognised her attempt at redirecting the conversation, but chose not to fight it.

"Reading comic books," he murmured, and a soft smile settled across Claudia's features.

"That sounds like an activity for two," she said gently. "Got some time for an old friend, Agent Jinks?"

Steve held out his hand for hers, but Claudia bypassed it and tucked herself under his arm, allowing him to hold her tight as he led her from the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow, I am overwhelmed by the followers for this story! You're all AWESOME!**

* * *

After checking that Scout's nightlight was still on, Steve glanced at the sleeping toddler one last time before backing slowly out of the room, pulling the door almost completely closed. When he turned towards the hallway, he found himself face to face with a slightly rumpled and tired-looking Myka, a baby monitor gripped in one hand and a grateful smile tugging on the corners of her lips. Given the late hour, it wasn't a huge surprise that Steve and Myka were dressed similarly, in soft cotton pyjama pants and old tees. Myka's shirt, printed with an Ohio State logo, was clearly stolen from Pete, while Steve's bore the ATF insignia.

"You didn't have to do that," Myka murmured, cocking her head towards her daughter's bedroom.

"It was no problem," Steve said with a gentle smile. "She just wanted some water and someone to rock her to sleep." He nodded towards the baby monitor Myka held.

"You sounded like you had your hands full."

Myka huffed out a breath as she glared at the baby monitor.

"I swear they plan their tag team tactics in advance," she muttered. "They're lucky they're so cute." She cast a forlorn look towards Scout's door.

"I really need to spend more time with Scout," she murmured. "This whole motherhood thing is so much harder than they tell you."

"Myka, Scout's got more parents than she knows what to do with," Steve reassured her. "You're doing fine."

Myka gave him a grateful smile as she her eyes flicked towards Claudia's still closed bedroom door.

"She's taken to sleeping with headphones in," Steve offered by way of explanation, his lips twitching into a fond smile. Myka rolled her eyes as she ran a hand through her tousled curls.

"Are you awake enough to talk for a bit?" she asked, glancing towards the staircase. Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Sure," he answered, shrugging his shoulders as he followed Myka down the stairs and into the living room. The pair settled onto opposite ends of the couch. Myka tucked her legs up under herself as she placed the baby monitor on the side table. Steve rested an arm across the back of the couch and looked at Myka expectantly.

"Pete said that you had an argument with Colton out in the field the other day," Myka started softly, and Steve's expression instantly turned sour.

"Words may have been exchanged," he muttered tersely.

"I heard it a little differently," Myka countered.

"He was flirting with our suspect, right in front of Claudia!" Steve snapped. "It wasn't even subtle."

"That's not really your battle to fight, Steve," Myka told him with a small frown, and Steve curled his lip in disgust.

"Like hell it isn't," he growled. "You didn't see Claudia's face. She is my best friend, and I will do whatever I have to do to protect her."

"Steve," Myka stated his name gently, but Steve was on a roll.

"The guy is a jerk," he spat. "An absolute A-grade asshat. He's obnoxious, and lazy, and completely incompetent. And seriously, the way he treats Claudia!"

"Steve," Myka tried to cut in again, to no avail.

"He doesn't respect her at all!" Steve ranted. "He doesn't listen when she speaks. He's got no interest in what she likes. And while I don't have anything concrete just yet, I think he's actually hurting her." Steve huffed out an angry breath and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I hate that jerk," he muttered. Myka shifted in her seat as she waited for Steve to calm down, and Steve squinted at her.

"Myka, do you know something?" he asked with suspicion. Myka bit down on her lower lip as she picked at a loose thread on her pyjama pants.

"Steve, a few years ago, it was you that opened my eyes to what was standing right in front of me," she said softly. "Without your push, I wouldn't have what I cherish most right now. Pete, my babies..." Myka trailed off as a goofy smile spread across her face, and then shook her head softly to focus herself. Steve was still cautiously watching her.

"Steve, I'd like to return the favour," Myka murmured. "If I say something to you, will you listen?"

"When have I ever not listened to you?" Steve asked, and Myka gave him a put-on look.

"Putting that aside for another time," she said wryly. Steve's top lip twitched in a half-grin. Myka twisted one of her curls around her finger as she gazed at him with fond amusement.

"Just remember, I'm telling you this because I care," she murmured, and Steve's brow wrinkled with sudden concern. Myka swallowed hard.

"Steve, you're in love with Claudia," she stated gently, biting her lip. Steve's crystal eyes went wide, and he stared at Myka with his mouth slightly agape.

"I think you're more sleep deprived than you realise," he finally managed to cough out. "You're talking crazy."

"Steve," Myka spoke in a soothing tone. "You love her."

"Of course I love her!" Steve cried with a hesitant laugh. "She's my best friend. I love her, but I'm not in love with her. I'm gay."

"Believe me, Steve, if anyone knows what it feels like to think that you can only ever feel certain things about people, and then have your heart tell you something completely different, it's me," Myka told him, a nostalgic look crossing her face for a split second. "I don't doubt that you're gay, sweetheart, but when it comes to Claudia, your love for her defies all logic."

Steve was gaping at her, and he shook his head defiantly.

"You're wrong," he denied strenuously. "I'm not in love with Claudia. I can't be."

Myka was studying Steve with a knowing look in her pretty green eyes, and Steve blinked at her as his mind attempted to process the information he'd just been given.

"I can't be in love with Claudia," Steve repeated, but his resolve was wavering. He shot a confused look towards Myka.

"Can I be in love with her?" he asked. Myka recognised the question as rhetorical, but when she bit her lip, Steve's whole body suddenly slumped back on the couch.

"I'm in love with her," he breathed out in shock. "Holy crap, I'm in love with Claudia Donovan."

"Oh, I recognise that look," Myka quipped as she took in the dumbfounded expression on Steve's face. Steve let out a confused whine as he raked his fingers across his closely shaven scalp.

"This is a disaster," he managed to croak out as he stared at Myka with pleading eyes. Myka's forehead furrowed in concern.

"Being in love is a not a bad thing," she murmured reassuringly, stretching her fingers out to touch Steve's hand. Steve looked pained.

"This is not like you and Pete," he whined unhappily. "This is complicated." He huffed out an exhausted breath.

"She has a boyfriend."

Myka wore an amused smirk.

"I'm sorry, did we not just finish discussing the fact that he's a jerk?" she asked teasingly. Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Myka Bering, are you seriously encouraging me to break up a pair of your agents?" he questioned disbelievingly. Myka at least had the sense to look sheepish.

"I'll deny it if you ever tell anyone," she stated, "but Colton's replaceable. He may be an agent, but you're family, and I will fight for my family til my dying breath."

"So you're saying that I should fight for Claud?" Steve asked.

"I'm saying that you should follow your heart," Myka smiled softly, giving Steve's hand a squeeze. Steve let out a shuddering breath.

"I'm so confused," he moaned, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. Myka opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as the baby monitor beside her crackled to life. She let out a moan of her own.

"Why won't you sleep?" she growled at the baby monitor as she hauled herself to her feet. She padded towards the staircase, but paused in the doorway to glance over her shoulder at Steve, who was staring at the wall with a dazed expression on his face.

"Fate works in funny ways, Steve," Myka murmured. "Just be true to yourself. We're all on your side." Another cry squealed through the monitor, and Myka winced before she hurried up the stairs. Steve slumped even lower on the couch. He could feel his stomach churning as his head swam with the emotions that, with one simple statement, Myka had managed to unearth.

"How did this happen?" he mumbled to himself, scratching at the stumble on his chin. "This is absurd." He threw his hands up in the air. "And now I'm talking to myself." Glancing at the clock on the mantle, Steve let out a frustrated groan and pushed himself to his feet, reasoning that he was never going to get back to sleep, and that maybe some meditation would help to sort his emotions into something he recognised as sane.


	5. Chapter 5

When all three Lattimer children came down with a head cold at the same time, and then immediately passed it on to both of their parents, and then onto Steve, Artie had no choice but to send Claudia and Colton out into the field together. Steve was livid, but a constantly running nose and a hacking cough that he couldn't quite keep a handle on meant that he was forced to sit back and watch as an ecstatic Claudia dragged her boyfriend out of the Warehouse. Despite his cold, Steve refused to leave the Warehouse until their return, much to Artie's disgust.

"You know, you'd be much more comfortable back at the B&B," Artie commented none too subtly as Steve blew his nose for the umpteenth time and threw his tissue into a wastepaper basket that was dangerously close to overflowing.

"What, and leave you here all alone?" Steve sniffled.

"I'll have you know that I handled this place alone for many years," Artie informed him, and Steve couldn't help but scoff.

"Yes, and look how happy and well-adjusted you are," he quipped, before sneezing loudly. Artie gave him a disgusted look and banged a can of disinfectant down on Steve's desk.

"I want this whole office sprayed down before you leave," he barked. "It's bad enough that Pete and Myka let their little germ monsters roam the length of the Warehouse. I don't need you contributing too."

"Your sympathy is overwhelming," Steve said sarcastically, and Artie grunted before shuffling off towards one of the storage rooms. Fighting and failing to stave off another coughing fit, Steve watched Artie go, and then reached for a pile of case reports stacked beside his computer. He tried to fill the hours, but his mind kept drifting back to his best friend. Ever since his late night revelation with Myka, Steve had thought of little else but Claudia. He felt like a freshman with a crush on the prom queen, and he was so jumpy around her that at one point Claudia had quite seriously asked him if he was on drugs. Steve had found himself time and time again at the brink of blurting out everything to her, but there was something holding him back. Sighing softly, Steve saved his latest file and was halfway to reaching for the new system installations Claudia had left behind when the door to the umbilicus opened and Colton swaggered into the office, swinging a neutraliser bag between his fingers.

"Anyone order an amulet?" he called, an arrogant grin plastered on his face. Steve gripped the arms of his chair to stop himself from getting up and smacking the sunglasses off of Colton's face. He was about to make a snide comment in reply to Colton, but the words died on his lips when Claudia slunk into the office and cautiously slid her own sunglasses to the top of her head, revealing a darkening bruise under her left eye.

"Claudia!" Steve yelped, leaping to his feet. "Oh my God!"

"Jinksy, relax," Claudia drawled, dropping her satchel by the door. "It's worse than it looks. Porcelain skin and all that... Hey!"

Claudia's shout of distress was the reaction to Steve storming past her to grab Colton by the shirt collar and slamming him up against the wall of the office.

"What did you do to her?" he roared, giving Colton a rough shake.

"I didn't do anything!" Colton shouted back, pushing his fists against Steve's chest in a vain attempt to free himself from the older agent's hold. Steve tightened his grip.

"Let go of me, you freak!" Colton bellowed.

"Steve, let him go!" Claudia shouted, digging her nails into Steve's shoulder as she fought to pull him away. Letting out a growl, Steve released his hold on Colton's collar and took a step back, glaring daggers at the dark-haired younger man. Colton tugged at his shirt and gave Steve a disgusted sneer.

"What is your problem, you lunatic?" Colton spat, rubbing at his neck. Steve went crimson.

"My problem, asshole," he shot back, pointing a finger towards Claudia, "is that my best friend just walked in here with a black eye! I repeat, what did you do?"

"Damn it, Steve, back off!" Claudia shouted, pushing herself between her boyfriend and her best friend. "The dude with the amulet had a hell of a left hook, and clearly I need to take Myka up on her self-defence lessons, because I wasn't quick enough to get my face out of the way of his fist!"

Steve stared her down, his mouth set in a grim line. He was trying to maintain some sense of dignity, but he desperately needed to blow his nose again. Sniffing, he looked over Claudia's shoulder at Colton, who was still glowering.

"It's your job to protect her," he growled.

"It's my job," Colton spat at him, "to secure artifacts."

Steve's jaw slackened, and his whole body slumped as he felt his heart sink towards his stomach. He gave Claudia a forlorn look before directing his attention back to Colton.

"That's the job we pay you for," he murmured unhappily. "But you're her boyfriend. You're supposed to keep her safe."

"For God's sake, Steve, I'm not a damsel in distress!" Claudia cried. "I am a grown-ass woman, and I can take care of myself!" The muscle twitching on her jawline was a good indication as to just how angry she was.

"Exactly," Colton chimed in, and Steve's hackles immediately rose up.

"Do not push me, you little sh-"

"Steve!"

The heads of all three agents swung around to focus on Artie, who had emerged from the storage room and was standing in the doorway with a large file clasped in his hands.

"I think it's time you headed back to the B&B, Steve," Artie said, his tone conveying that he was giving an order, rather than making a suggestion. Steve gritted his teeth in an attempt to fight back the coughing fit that threatened to bubble up from his chest. He sniffled again, and then gave Claudia one last look before retrieving his belongings from the desk and heading for the door, trying desperately to ignore the pain in his chest that was caused by the way Claudia pressed herself against Colton's side as her best friend passed them by.

* * *

Steve hadn't bothered locking his bedroom door, so he wasn't at all surprised when a few hours later Claudia flung herself into the room and slammed the door behind her. Pressing her back against the door, she stared Steve down in silence, her big coffee-coloured eyes boring right into him. Steve knew that he should probably be preparing his apology, but as he leaned back against his headboard, he found himself studying Claudia and just marveling at the amazing woman she'd become. Even with the nasty bruise on her cheek, Claudia was beautiful. Long gone was her punk rock multi-coloured hair, replaced by dark auburn locks that fell past her shoulders in soft waves. Her clothing had taken on a more mature edge as well, with sneakers replaced by stylish boots, and more demure jewellery replacing some of her chunkier pieces. Claudia had really grown into herself, but what Steve loved most about her was that underneath it all he could still find the quirky, sassy, bright-eyed girl who'd claimed him as her own so many years before. He wasn't so fond, however, of the way she was looking at him right at that moment.

"Claud," he started hesitantly, but Claudia cut him off with a flick of her hand.

"Don't Claud me," she snapped. "You don't get to Claud me when I'm mad." She stomped across the room and threw herself down at the end of Steve's bed, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at her partner. Steve gave her a plaintive look, and after a moment, Claudia rolled her eyes as she huffed out a frustrated breath.

"What is wrong with you?" she whined. "Damn it, Steve, you said you'd be nice!"

"Claudia, he let you get hurt!" Steve cried, his face crumpling in anguish.

"Steve, Colton was doing his job!" Claudia countered in frustration. "Let's face it; this job doesn't exactly come with a health and safety manual."

"Still, it wouldn't have happened if I was there," Steve pouted, using his sleeve to wipe at his nose. Claudia gave him a disgusted look.

"Number one, that's gross," she said, nodding towards Steve's sleeve. "Number two; you have no way of knowing that."

Steve opened his mouth to protest, and Claudia sighed as her shoulders drooped in defeat.

"Jinksy, this has got to stop," she murmured pleadingly, her uneasiness evident. "You keep pushing him, but every time you do, you push me away too."

Steve was watching Claudia cautiously, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Please stop making me choose between the people I love," Claudia begged with an unhappy sigh. Steve suddenly felt like he'd been punched directly in the gut, and he broke into another bout of coughing as he fought to catch his breath. Claudia studied him, her eyes unhappy, as he reached for the tissue box beside his bed.

"Love?" Steve finally managed to gasp out, digging his fingers into the bedspread. "You love him?"

Claudia blinked at him, and then her the corners of her lips started to twitch upwards. A blush started to crawl over her cheeks.

"Well, I dunno, yeah, maybe," she mumbled sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders as she screwed up her nose. "I mean, we haven't talked about it, not really, but we've been together for a while now, and I..." she trailed off as she looked up at Steve through her eyelashes.

"Am I being stupid?"

Steve swallowed hard. His head was swimming.

"Claud, just be sure," he finally said gently, scooting forward so that he was sitting knee to knee with his best friend. "Promise me you won't rush into anything just because you think you have to. Be ready, and be sure."

Claudia chuffed out little embarrassed laugh.

"Come on, Steve, when have you ever known me to do anything I didn't want to do?" she asked, her lips curling into a grin. Steve reached forward and cupped her cheek with his hand, and Claudia barely hesitated before she leaned into his touch.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Steve murmured.

"It doesn't hurt that badly," she whispered, but she couldn't help but wince when Steve ran his thumb over the bruise on her cheek.

"OK, maybe it hurts a little," she admitted, biting her lip. Steve wondered if she was reading between the lines of her statement the way that he was.

"I'll be careful," Claudia told him with a soft smile. Steve grunted his acknowledgement, and the pair sat there in silence, chocolate eyes staring into crystal blues. Feeling his heartbeat start to quicken, Steve suddenly felt the urge to tell his beautiful best friend everything that was on his mind. He fought to clear his throat.

"Claudia," he rasped. "I, uh, I want, I mean..."

"You ok, Jinksy?" Claudia grinned, slowly pulling away from Steve's touch as her phone chimed in her pocket. Steve's confidence rapidly disappeared as Claudia's face lit up at the text message she'd received.

"Colton's making burritos for dinner!" she announced excitedly, looking up at Steve with bright eyes. "You want to join us?"

Defeat settled over Steve as he took in the happy expression on Claudia's face, and he pushed himself back on the bed to lean against the headboard.

"I'm pretty beat," he murmured. "I should probably try and sleep this cold off."

"Ah yes, stay away, germ breather!" Claudia declared, laughing as she crossed her fingers in a barring motion front of her. Steve forced out a chuckle as he watched Claudia unfold her legs and climb off the bed to make her way to the door. Claudia paused with her hand on the doorknob to glance over her shoulder.

"Hey Jinksy?" she said gently, and Steve cocked his eyebrow expectantly.

"Thanks for looking out for me," Claudia murmured. Steve couldn't stop the fond look that formed on his face.

"Always," he told her. Claudia blushed, and gave him one final smile before she slipped out of the room. Steve stared at the closed door for a moment before resting his head back on the headboard and squeezing his eyes shut as he tried desperately to stop himself from breaking down in tears.

* * *

Pete and Myka decided, when George and Holden turned one, to keep the birthday party a small affair. They decorated the yard of the B&B with blue balloons and streamers, and spread some picnic blankets and chairs out on the lawn. Myka's parents flew in from Colorado, and Pete's mother arrived from Regent headquarters with Mrs Frederic and Abigail in tow. The day was clear and warm, and after the cake was cut and presents were opened, Steve stretched out on one of the blankets while Holden played with a new set of building blocks beside him. Steve couldn't help but smile as he took in the happy scene in front of him. Jane Lattimer bounced George gently on her knee as she shared an animated conversation with Myka's mother and Mrs Frederic, Artie and Warren Bering had set up a chess game on a card table, and Scout was delightedly running around the yard waving a bubble wand through the air while her mother and Abigail chased behind her wearing fairy wings and face paint. The smile on Steve's face faltered slightly as his eyes fell on Claudia and Colton, who were perched on the porch steps, singing softly and laughing together as Claudia strummed an acoustic guitar. Steve was still staring at them when Pete stepped into his line of sight, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"She's gonna get a complex if you keep looking at her like that," Pete quipped, holding out a paper plate with two blue-frosted cupcakes on it. "Birthday cake?"

Steve accepted the plate and rolled his eyes as Pete settled down onto the blanket next to him.

"One of these is more than enough, you know," Steve said, indicating the giant cupcakes.

"Ah yes," Pete countered, "but I have two sons, therefore, two cakes."

Steve shook his head good-naturedly, and then scooped up a fingerful of frosting and stuck it in his mouth. Pete leaned forward and snagged Holden as the little boy made to crawl off the picnic blanket. Holden cackled delightedly as his father blew a loud raspberry against his cheek.

"Uncle Steve doesn't look very happy," Pete said seriously to his son, and Steve narrowed his eyes in Pete's direction.

"You've been talking to Myka," he muttered, and Pete cracked a grin.

"It's what we do," he quipped, and Steve grunted. Pete set Holden down, and put on a more serious face.

"So when are you going to tell her?" he asked.

"I'm starting to think that it's a bad idea," Steve admitted, his eyes still on Claudia. "I don't want to lose her friendship. Claudia's all I have. She's my best friend."

"Dude, being in love with your best friend is awesome!" Pete declared. "You get to just be you, you know? There's none of that awkwardness, or pretending to be someone you're not. It's the best thing that ever happened to me." He picked up Holden and pressed his cheek against his son's.

"Plus," he grinned cheekily, "you get to make little versions of yourself!"

Clearly thrilled with the attention, Holden excitedly swung one of his chubby fists around, and ended up smacking Pete right in the nose.

"Ow," Pete squeaked, setting his son down as Steve chuckled, but Steve's attention was quickly drawn back to Claudia as the sound of her laughter echoed across the lawn. Colton had tucked himself behind the redhead, sliding his knees underneath her arms, and was attempting to play Claudia's guitar from behind. Claudia leaned back against her boyfriend and looked up at his from under her bangs, her expression delighted. Steve felt the familiar twisting in his gut return. He glanced over at Pete, who gave him a sympathetic smile.

"She says she loves him," Steve murmured, and Pete waved his hand dismissively.

"She only thinks she does, because she doesn't know that you're an option," Pete told him. "You and Claudia are made for each other. She'd be crazy if she didn't see that."

"I honestly don't know if I'm brave enough to risk it," Steve admitted, pressing his lips together grimly. "Every time I think it's right, I lose my nerve."

"Pete?"

Myka's voice carried across the yard, and both Steve and Pete looked over to where Myka was holding an excitedly burbling George under one arm, and was beckoning to Pete with her free hand.

"Helena wants us to send her more pictures," Myka called, a happy smile plastered on her face. Pete groaned at the effort of pushing himself to his feet, and then scooped Holden up into his arms.

"No woman can resist the Lattimer charm," Pete quipped, tickling Holden under the chin. He went to walk towards his partner, but hesitated for a moment to glance back at Steve.

"You should tell Claudia how you feel," he said seriously. "Don't wait, and then regret it."

"Thanks man," Steve said gruffly, and Pete winked before he carted his son away. Steve let out a long sigh as he reclined back on the blanket and pressed his hands over his eyes. Deep down, he knew Pete had a point, and that regret would be inevitable if he didn't pull himself together, but convincing himself that the risk was worth it was proving harder than he could ever imagine.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my Clinks... what do you guys think?**


	6. Chapter 6

December in small-town Alberta was freezing. Steve and Claudia had spent just over two days traipsing around a town barely bigger than Univille trying to locate an artifact that was causing every dog in the area to bark uncontrollably, before they'd finally found the item lodged in a charity shop bargain bin. Their assignment had taken longer than expected, but despite the fact that he could barely feel his face due to the brisk temperature, Steve was relishing every moment that he had with Claudia. Things between him and the vivacious redhead had never really returned to normal after Steve's altercation with Colton. Claudia had put on her happiest faces around Steve, and Steve had done his best to be civil towards Colton, but the strain between Claudia and Steve was evident to everyone who knew them well. They had rarely found more than a moment alone together, so it had proven difficult for Steve to even try to rectify the situation, but on their outbound flight from South Dakota, Claudia had nonchalantly offered Steve one of her earbuds so that they could listen to her playlist together, and just like that, the barriers between them melted away. That comfort carried on into their snag and bag assignment. Rather than being frustrated at dead ends and wrong turns, the pair had found themselves laughing through the delays, and finding the entertainment in the small moments. Steve also wouldn't lie about the happiness he'd felt when Claudia had snuck into his hotel room in the middle of the night and climbed into his bed, even though he knew it was only because she was seeking out his body warmth. Steve had his partner back, and every little thing she did made a smile creep over his face. Claudia was looking particularly adorable that morning as they walked down the main street towards their rental car. She was bundled up in a thick padded jacket and a matching scarf and glove set, and the knitted hat pulled low on her head had little teddy bear ears stitched onto the top of it. Her hands were wrapped around a steaming cup of hot chocolate, her cheeks were rosy with the cold, and she was laughing hysterically at a joke Steve had just made about Artie and Trailer. Overwhelmed by her natural beauty, Steve realised that he just couldn't wait any longer to tell her the truth. He reached out for Claudia's hand, causing her to swing around mid-step.

"Whoa, Jinksy, what's up?" Claudia asked, a giggle still evident in her tone. She sipped at her cocoa, looking at Steve over the rim of her cup, Bambi eyes wide with expectation. Steve felt a blush creep over his cheeks.

"Claudia, I really need to tell you something," he said thickly, letting go of her hand so that he could tug at the scarf that suddenly felt awfully tight around his neck.

"Any chance it can wait until we're in the car?" Claudia asked nonchalantly, taking one last sip of her hot chocolate before tossing the cup into a nearby trashcan. "We're going to be cutting it fine getting to the airport as it is, and I'm really starting to run out of excuses for missing flights." She wrinkled her nose. "Artie just gets so cranky."

"Claudia," Steve stated her name with a little more force, and Claudia suddenly snapped back to attention. Concern crept over her features.

"Ok, we're clearly serious here," she said with some caution in her tone. "Steve, is something wrong?"

Steve let out a soft sigh as he tried to gather the jumbled thoughts in his head.

"Claudia," he murmured her name with affection, and he couldn't stop the smile that formed on his lips. "Claud, you know that you're my best friend, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Claudia deadpanned. "BFFs. No question."

"I would do anything for you," Steve continued, twining his fingers together. "Anything you asked me to, and for a while there I have to admit I wondered if the reason I feel like that is because of some residual tie to the metronome, but it's more than that. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. You get me, and I get you. We're the perfect team."

Claudia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you dying?" she asked warily. "You'd tell me if you were dying, right?"

Steve winced as he tried to stop himself from rambling.

"No one's dying, Claud," he murmured, and Claudia's frown relaxed slightly.

"Then why are you being weird?" she asked. Steve swallowed hard as he cast his eyes upward for a moment, blew out a loud breath, and then looked Claudia directly in the eye.

"I love you, Claudia" he told her sincerely. "I honestly can't quite put my finger on when it happened. All I know is that whenever I look at you, it seems to me that there's never been a time when I didn't love you, when I wasn't head over heels completely in love with every single part of you."

Claudia's mouth was hanging open, and her eyes had gone saucer-wide. Steve felt his breathing get shallower as his heart started to pound uncontrollably.

"What did you say?" Claudia finally squeaked out, so softly that Steve barely heard her. He took a step forward, his hands twitching at his sides as he longed to reach out and touch her.

"I'm in love with you," he repeated, a tiny tremor in his voice. Claudia stared up at him for one heart-stopping moment, and then let out a shriek.

"Unbelievable!" she shouted. "Are you out of your mind?"

Steve blinked at her.

"Excuse me?"

"I can't believe you!" Claudia screamed. "Why would you say that? Are you stupid?"

Steve looked dumbfounded.

"Claudia, did I say something wrong?" he asked. His stomach was starting to twist into knots. Claudia threw her hands up.

"Wrong?" she shrieked. "Wrong? Steve, what are you thinking?"

"Claudia, I thought this was what you wanted," Steve managed to squeak out. Claudia gave him a murderous glare.

"You thought?" she spat out incredulously. "I honestly cannot believe you. Could you be any more selfish?"

"Selfish?" Steve cried in surprise. "Claudia, I love you. I thought you loved me too."

"Three years ago!" Claudia shouted back at him. "I told you that I loved you three years ago, and you made me feel like a complete idiot. You said you were gay!"

Steve started to stutter.

"I was!" he yelped. "I mean, I am! I... I... damn it, Claud, I love you!"

"I have a boyfriend!" Claudia shouted at him, and then her eyes lit up in realisation.

"You're jealous!" she hissed accusingly, poking a finger into Steve's chest. "You're jealous of Colton."

Steve couldn't help but choke on his laugh of disbelief.

"You're joking, right?" he coughed. "I am not jealous of that smarmy little jackass."

"Oh, that is real mature, Steve," Claudia bit out, glaring daggers at him.

"Claud, please," Steve murmured as his face fell. He was acutely aware that he was begging.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Claudia snapped. "You've always hated Colton."

"He's not good enough for you!" Steve cried before he could stop himself. Claudia's expression grew thunderous.

"You're supposed to be my best friend," she stated angrily. "All you've done since it started is try to tear my relationship with Colton apart. Why don't you want me to be happy, Steve?"

"Of course I want you to be happy!" Steve gasped out, by this point feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of him. "You can be happy, with me."

Claudia sneered at him in disgust.

"You are unbelievable," she muttered. "I can't be around you right now." She pushed roughly past Steve and began stomping her way down the street. Wincing at the sudden shoulder barge, Steve turned around to follow Claudia and realised that there were town locals curiously watching the argument from behind shop windows. Fighting against the sick feeling in his stomach, Steve hurried after Claudia.

"Come on, Claud, where are you going?" he called after her.

"Away from you!" Claudia shouted angrily over her shoulder. "I'll find another way home."

"Claudia, don't be ridiculous!" Steve cried, pulling the car keys from the pocket of his jacket as he rushed to catch up to his partner. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, and Claudia whipped around, clearly seething.

"Don't touch me," she hissed.

"Please just get in the car," Steve pleaded gently. "We don't have to talk, but I'm not leaving you here alone in the middle of nowhere."

Claudia glared at him for a moment, her lips pursed, and then reached out and snatched the car keys out of Steve's hand as she strode purposefully back towards the car.

"Ok then," Steve breathed out unhappily, casting his eyes skyward for a long moment before turning back towards where the rented SUV was parked. Claudia had already climbed into the driver's seat, and she started up the engine as she slammed the car door shut.

"Well, this should be fun," Steve muttered to himself. He made to step off the sidewalk to head for the passenger side door, and then leapt backwards with a surprised yelp as the car lurched forward, and Claudia steered the vehicle out onto the street and sped off without so much as a backward glance. Gaping after her in disbelief, Steve wandered out into the middle of the street and watched as the car disappeared around a corner and out of sight. A stabbing pain was getting stronger in his chest, and Steve's vision blurred as tears prickled in his eyes. Exhaling loudly, Steve turned a slow circle in the street before trudging slowly back towards the sidewalk, slumping down onto a bench, and burying his face in his hands.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the delay in putting this up. I hope that it's worth the wait. xo

* * *

Over twelve hours later, upset and defeated Steve was nowhere to be seen, and Zen Steve had long up and left the building, replaced by a grumpy and incredibly frustrated Warehouse agent who desperately wanted to take a shower and to sleep off one of the worst days of his life. After finally accepting that Claudia wasn't coming back to collect him, Steve had come to the quick realisation that he wasn't going to find a rental car company in small-town Canada, and the hope of a taxi service soon faded. Claudia had driven away with the Farnsworth as well as his overnight bag, but Steve breathed a small sigh of relief when he realised he was carrying his passport as well as his wallet and phone, though the cell was rapidly losing battery power. Steve tried his luck in a few stores in the main street before he finally managed to find an older gentleman with approximately six teeth and a rusty pickup truck that was willing to drive him to the airport. The truck smelled strongly of wet dog, and the suspension was long gone, and Steve was well on the way to frazzled by the time they arrived in Calgary. His frustration only grew when he realised that he'd missed the only flight back to South Dakota, and that his only viable route home included stopovers in Tennessee and Detroit. Delayed boarding, two flights spent cramped in the middle seat of the row, and a heated argument at the rental car desk once he finally made it to South Dakota meant that by the time he pulled up in front of the B&B Steve was barely keeping his anger at bay. He flung open the front door and slammed it closed behind him, for once not caring if he woke anyone up. Grunting as he wrestled out of his jacket, Steve stomped grumpily into the living room, where he found Myka and Pete curled up with each other on the couch, engaged in a fairly hot and heavy make out session.

"Oh, for the love of Buddha, don't you people have a room?" Steve snapped, and Myka and Pete hurriedly jumped apart. In his haste, Pete fell off the couch, and Myka cleared her throat uncomfortably and tugged on her braided hair as Pete scrambled to his feet.

"Steve, where have you been?" Myka asked, her concerned look clashing with her flushed cheeks. "We've been worried sick."

"Clearly," Steve deadpanned, and Myka's blush deepened as she rested a hand on the arm Pete wrapped around her waist.

"Claudia's been back for hours," Myka informed Steve, absently tracing patterns on Pete's forearm with her finger.

"Yeah, and boy is she pissed," Pete chipped in, watching Steve from over Myka's shoulder. "Dude, what happened today?"

Steve gave them both a dirty look.

"You two happened," he spat. "The next time you want to give advice, do everyone a favour, and keep it to yourself, ok?"

Confusion crossed Myka's face.

"Steve?" she queried softly.

"I told Claudia that I loved her," Steve bit out reluctantly, and Myka's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"You told her?" Pete exclaimed. "Aw man, I wanted to be there for that! How did she take it?"

Steve's expression grew filthier, and even Myka huffed out a breath as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Pete stared back at Steve expectantly for a long while, and then realisation suddenly crept over his features.

"Uh oh," he squeaked out.

"Steve, I'm so sorry," Myka murmured, her forehead screwed up in concern. "I really thought..."

Steve grunted and shook his head as he exhaled loudly.

"I really just want to go to bed and forget this day ever happened," he muttered, and Myka gave him a forlorn smile as she leaned back against Pete's chest.

"Sorry, buddy," Pete offered. Steve shrugged his shoulders in defeat and sloped off towards the stairs, his mind firmly set on a hot shower. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realise that Colton was standing at the top of the staircase, a smug expression on his face.

"Well, well, if it isn't Casanova, finally made it home," he sneered, folding his arms across his chest. Steve narrowed his eyes and made to move past Colton without saying a word, but Colton side-stepped back into his path.

"You know, Jinks, I always knew you'd try something to take Claudia away from me, but this blew even my mind," Colton continued with a disbelieving smirk. "Did you seriously think that telling her you love her would work? You know you're gay, right?"

Steve glowered at the younger agent, his neck muscles tensed.

"Get. Out. Of my way," he hissed, and Colton's eyes and smirk both grew wider as he took in the pain in Steve's eyes.

"Well, I'll be damned," he drawled. "You really do love her. This just makes this so much sweeter."

Steve could feel his blood boiling, and his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"You need to move," he growled at Colton. Colton ignored him.

"She came running to me," Colton said smarmily. "Claudia picked me." He leaned forward so that his face was only inches from Steve's, and gave him an evil grin.

"I'll let you in a little secret, Jinksy," he leered. "Claudia's cute, and she's got a pretty banging body, and she's awesome in bed, but she's kind of boring. Honestly, there are days when I consider breaking up with her, but now," he paused to lean back and stick his hands in his pockets, "now I know how much it'll kill you, I think I'll just stay right where I am."

Steve's mouth was hanging slightly open as he took in Colton's smug expression, and he hung his head for a moment, and then without hesitation he lifted a fist and socked Colton square in the face. Colton let out a shout of pain as he fell backwards, clutching at his face as blood spurted from his nose. At the sudden noise, Colton's bedroom swung open, and Claudia came bolting out, wearing nothing but a man's dress shirt over a pair of black boyleg underwear.

"Jesus Christ, Steve, what did you do?" she screeched in horror, shoving roughly past her partner so that she could reach where Colton was sprawled on the floor. Colton let out a moan as Claudia fell to her knees beside him.

"You are out of control!" Claudia raged at Steve, pulling Colton up into a sitting position and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Psycho," Colton spat in contribution, his voice muffled by his cupped hands. Steve growled as he stepped forward, but he faltered when Claudia glared up at him with pure unadulterated hatred in her eyes.

"I can't believe you," she sneered, rising slowly as she helped Colton to his feet.

"Claudia," Steve rasped, but the redhead cut him off with a simple narrowing of her eyes.

"Move," she bit out angrily, and with a defeated sigh as his heart broke all over again, Steve stepped to the side, but not before he was able to observe the wickedly smug look in Colton's eyes as he was led down the stairs. His emotions spiralling, Steve had to grip onto the banister to stop himself from lunging at the FBI agent again. He was dimly aware of the thudding of footsteps on the stairs behind him, indicating the arrival of Myka and Pete at the scene, but his ears were ringing and his vision was blurring at the edges. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach was making it hard to breathe.

"Oh Steve," Myka murmured, letting go of Pete's hand as her partner continued down the hall to check on his children.

"Please don't," Steve mumbled back at her, releasing his grip on the banister and stumbling towards his room, quickly closing the door behind him before anyone could witness the way he fell apart.

* * *

Claudia defiantly stared Artie down as she sat ramrod straight in her chair, and she crossed her arms over her chest for further emphasis.

"I'm not going anywhere with him," she repeated, breaking her gaze with Artie so that she could glare at Steve. Artie let out a frustrated sigh as he removed his glasses so that he could rub at his face.

"Claudia, we are not having this discussion again," he growled. "This is not Claudia's choose your own adventure story."

"This is getting ridiculous," Steve huffed out from across the office. This was the fifth ping in as many days that Claudia had refused to go follow up if she had to go with Steve. The result was five days of Steve flushing out the gooery while Claudia was taking inventory at the other end of the Warehouse, all while Pete and a bruise-faced Colton followed up on the artifact pings that came through. Artie and Myka had accepted Claudia's protests at first due mostly to the blind hatred that oozed from her every word, but they were now at a stalemate due to the fact that Pete and Colton were already out on assignment.

"Claudia, someone has to go," Myka spoke up from where she was entertaining Scout with a set of colouring pencils. George and Holden were napping in a playpen behind her.

"Oh I'll go, but not with him," Claudia snapped.

"Steve's your partner, Claud," Myka said gently.

"Steve punched my boyfriend in the face!" Claudia cried angrily in reply. "Having a partner means having someone in the field with you that you can trust. I don't trust him!"

"You abandoned me in the middle of nowhere!" Steve shot back incredulously. "If anyone should be experiencing trust issues right now, it should be me!"

Claudia began looking around like she was confused.

"I hear buzzing," she commented sarcastically. "Does anyone else hear buzzing? It sorta sounds like some big jerkface attempting communication."

"You are a child," Steve snapped, and Claudia sneered at him.

"People, this is not achieving anything!" Artie barked, and both Claudia and Steve sank back in their chairs, their expressions thunderous.

"He's not my partner," Claudia muttered under her breath. "Right now, he's not even my friend."

Steve knew that they were both angry, but Claudia's last words sliced through him like a knife, and he had to turn away so that she couldn't see his face as he fought to catch his breath. Across the room, Myka huffed out a defeated sigh as she pushed herself to her feet. She lovingly smoothed down Scout's hair before looking up.

"Steve, would you mind watching the kids for a while?" she murmured reluctantly, and when Steve managed to shake his head in reply, Myka reached for her coat and Farnsworth, and shot Claudia a glance.

"Come on, Claud, let's move," she pressed impatiently, and Claudia's face screwed up in confusion.

"Wait, you're coming with me?"

"I'm still an agent, Claud," Myka said dryly, accepting their artifact dossier from Artie. "So let's go. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get back."

Claudia looked stunned, like she couldn't believe that she'd actually won her argument.

"Well, alrighty then," she quipped, tucking her hair behind her ears as she got up from her chair. She took the assignment file from Myka's outstretched hand and grabbed her coat as she slipped out of the umbilicus door.

"We won't be long," Myka muttered to Artie as she rolled her eyes.

"Good luck," Artie grunted at her. Myka patted Steve on the shoulder as she left the office, and Artie grumbled something incoherent as he picked up a pile of books and shuffled away towards the Warehouse floor. Shaking himself out of his daze, Steve hauled himself out of his chair and settled himself down next to Scout, who had the tip of her tongue clamped between her lips as she diligently focused on her artwork. Steve took a moment to marvel at the toddler's likeness to her mother before he reached out a finger to tuck the little girl's curls behind her ear.

"What are you working on, short stuff?" he asked roughly, and Scout turned her head to study him with her pretty green eyes.

"It's our family, Uncle Steeb," she told him with so much deadpan in her tone, Steve had to wonder if she'd been taking lessons from Claudia. Scout slid her paper towards Steve and pointed at the crayon stick figures she'd drawn.

"Mommy and Daddy, and the babies," she lectured, and then left her finger on a wildly spiralled scrawl. "And me."

Steve pointed to the two figures with linked arms in the corner of the page.

"And who's this?"

Scout picked up a red crayon and pushed Steve's hand out of the way.

"It's you, Uncle Steeb," she said firmly, pressing her crayon to the page. "You're holding hands with Aunt Cloud, because Aunt Cloud says you're her bee eff eff."

Steve had to take a deep breath to try and clear the lump that formed in his throat, and he was glad that Scout was focused again on her drawing so that she couldn't see that tears that formed in his eyes. She was just a little kid, and she had no idea how much her innocent words stung. He watched Scout continue with her colouring project for a while, and only moved when a whimper that threatened to become a wail sounded from the playpen behind him. Steve quickly scooped George into his arms before Holden stirred.

"Hey, big guy," Steve murmured soothingly. "What's goin on? You need anything?"

George blinked at him with blurry eyes, still half asleep, and then burbled something inaudible before burying his face against Steve's shoulder. Steve pressed his cheek against the baby's head as he rocked him back towards sleep. George let out a contented sigh.

"I wish everything was just that simple," Steve murmured to the little boy. "Do yourself a favour, George, and try to never grow up. I'd give anything to make sure you never have to feel the way I do right now."


	8. Chapter 8

Pete and Colton returned to the Warehouse a few hours after their girlfriends left, but Myka and Claudia were detained on their assignment for nearly two days, and Myka's clear distress at being kept away from her kids for longer than expected only cemented in Steve's mind what action was required on his part. When Myka and Claudia finally returned, Steve gave the Lattimers a day for some family time, and then requested a meeting with Artie, Myka and Pete. Artie came to the B&B, and the four Warehouse employees took up seats in the dining room, closing the doors to keep some sense of privacy. Myka wore a clearly concerned expression as she studied Steve's face.

"Steve, it's late, so if we could get straight to the point, please," Artie requested gruffly, smacking Pete's hand away from the plate of cookies in the middle of the table. Steve sighed as he dragged a hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes. He knew what he had to say, but actually having to say it was already taking its toll, and he hadn't even said the words yet.

"I don't think anyone's missed the fact that things between Claudia and I are a little bit strained right now," he started, and Pete snorted.

"Cheers to the understatement of the year," he quipped, finally snagging a cookie.

"Pete, hush," Myka snapped, smacking her partner in the chest.

"You guys, I've tried talking to Claudia. This isn't just going to blow over," Steve murmured, unease evident in his eyes. "And I can't sit back and watch while our personal argument affects the lives of everyone around us."

Myka opened her mouth to protest, but Steve cut her off with a look.

"Myka, I'd take a bullet for your kids," he said forcefully. "So please believe me when I say that I don't ever want to be the reason why you're kept away from them any longer than you should be. What happened over the last couple of days was completely unacceptable."

"Steve, what are you getting at?" Artie asked softly.

"I think it's fairly clear," Steve said forlornly, "that one of us has to go."

Pete dropped his cookie onto the table as his mouth fell open in shock, and Myka let out a gasp.

"Steve," Artie started, but Steve continued on.

"Claudia's entire life is here," he murmured, tracing patterns on the tabletop with his finger. "She's tied to the Warehouse in ways that I can't even begin to comprehend. She will never leave, and I would not dream of suggesting that she should. So, for the benefit of the team, it has to be me. I have to be the one to leave."

"Steve, man, no," Pete breathed out. "There has to be another way."

"Pete, you already can go days at a time without seeing your kids," Steve said to him plaintively. "The twins took their first steps the other day, and you missed it. The same thing is going to happen to Myka if I stay. I can't be held responsible for that."

Pete shot a begging glance at Artie.

"Claud will listen to you!" he pleaded. "You have to talk to her. Make her see sense."

Artie gave Pete a put-on look.

"Do we work in the same Warehouse?" he asked sarcastically. "That girl only listens to me when it suits her. To be honest, I'd really prefer to be left out of Little Miss Snarky's romantic entanglements."

"Then tell Steve he can't go!" Pete cried. "You're the boss!"

"Pete," Myka soothed, placing a hand on her partner's shoulder. Pete gaped at her in wild-eyed panic.

"Mykes, Steve's trying to leave," Pete stressed. Myka gazed back at him sadly as she laced her fingers through his. Pete's face fell as acceptance slowly crept over him.

"Man, this sucks," he whined, pouting at Steve.

"Pete, I really need you to look out for Claudia," Steve pleaded. "I know you guys think my judgement is clouded because of how I feel, but Colton's no good, and Claudia's going to get hurt if no one has her back. So please, promise me you'll be there for her."

"But that's your job," Pete tried one last time, and then smiled forlornly at Steve's downtrodden expression.

"You know that I'll look after her for you, pal," he assured Steve. "But I still wish you'd stay."

"I wish I could too," Steve told him despondently. Across the table, Artie cleared his throat as he shuffled to his feet.

"I'll let Mrs Frederic and the Regents know about your decision, Steve," he said thickly. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it's come to this."

"Thank you," Steve murmured, nodding towards the older man. Artie nodded back as he picked up his fedora and headed towards the door. Pete watched Artie go, and then pressed a kiss to Myka's temple as he pushed himself out of his chair.

"I'm going to check on the kids," he said softly, his eyes flicking towards the staircase before he looked over at Steve.

"Night, dude."

Steve gave Pete an acknowledging nod as he left, but his attention was already on Myka, whose practical silence throughout the evening had spoken to Steve louder than any of Pete's protests. She looked miserable.

"Myka, I'm sorry," Steve started, and Myka let out an unhappy sigh.

"Damn it, Steve, I don't want you to go!" she whined, tears forming in her eyes. "You're the only sane one in this place. Who am I supposed to talk to now?"

"You could try your boyfriend?" Steve offered, and Myka rolled her eyes even as a grin tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Every time I do that, I end up pregnant," she quipped, and Steve chuckled as he shook his head.

"You know I'm doing this because I love our family," he assured Myka, and Myka reached across the table to place her hand on his forearm.

"Steve, I wrote the book on walking away from the Warehouse," she said gently. "You don't need to explain your reasons to me. I already know better than anyone what you're going through." She gave his arm a gentle pat before she leaned back again.

"I really want you to stay, but I know better than anyone the reasons why you need to get away," Myka told him. "I just wish I could shake some sense into Claudia for you."

Steve scoffed as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"When do you want to finish up?" Myka asked reluctantly. Steve swallowed hard.

"Christmas, I guess," he said gruffly. "I'm supposed to go back to Jersey to visit my mom anyway."

"And then I'll have to tell my kids that it was Uncle Steve who ruined Christmas," Myka sighed, pushing back from the table. Steve glared at her.

"Thank you, for that little guilt trip," he snapped, and Myka grinned as she held out her hands to help Steve out of his chair. Steve accepted her help, and then let out a small grunt of surprise as Myka wrapped him in a hug.

"You'll always have a home here, Steve," Myka mumbled against his shoulder. "Claudia isn't the only one who loves you."

"I'll miss you too, Myka," Steve mumbled back. "But Claudia's made her choice, and as much as I hate to admit it, it's not me."

* * *

Scout was wrapped around Steve's ankle, and the little girl was showing no sign that she ever intended to let go. Standing in the front entryway of the B&B, Steve sighed as he looked around, taking in the walls bedecked with sparkling Christmas decorations. The scents of pine and cinnamon hung heavy in the air, and somewhere in the depths of the building, Disney versions of Christmas carols were playing. Christmas Eve had rolled around, but all sense of the holiday spirit had leeched out of Steve. The last of his packed belongings were sitting in bags by the front door, and he'd been trying to leave the B&B with as little fuss as possible, but it was impossible to pull the wool over Scout Lattimer's eyes, and now Steve was faced with a slight dilemma.

"Scout, I'm going to miss my plane," he tried, shaking his leg slightly to try and loosen the child's grip. Scout clung on tighter in retaliation.

"It's Christmas!" she cried pitifully. "Nobody leaves on Christmas!"

Steve shot a begging glance at Pete, who had just stepped into the hallway with Holden perched on his hip.

"A little help, maybe?" Steve requested, indicating Pete's daughter. "Or did you put her up to this?"

"I did no such thing," Pete scoffed, and then raised his eyebrows hopefully. "Is it working?"

Steve rolled his eyes, and then leaned down and prised Scout's arms away from his leg so that he could pull the little girl into his arms. Scout's pout was trademark Lattimer, and Steve lifted a hand so that he could stroke her cheek with his thumb.

"My mom's waiting for me," he said as gently as possible. "How would you feel if you had to spend Christmas away from your mommy? Wouldn't you be sad?"

Scout looked conflicted.

"Yes," she finally admitted with a loud sigh. "But I don't want you to go, Uncle Steeb!"

"Scout, baby, none of us do," Myka piped up as she emerged from the living room while carrying George, who was sucking on a sugar cookie. Holden started to whine when he noticed that his brother had food, and Myka seamlessly passed him a cookie as she continued to focus her attention on Steve and Scout.

"Uncle Steve loves you, Scout," Myka spoke gently, a soft smile crossing her face as Scout rested her head on Steve's shoulder. "He loves all of us, very much. But he's going to stay with his mommy for a while, because right now, that's very important. Do you understand?"

Scout stuck her thumb in her mouth, but she nodded reluctantly. Steve pressed a kiss to Scout's forehead.

"You'll always be my best girl, short stuff," Steve told Scout, setting her back down on the floor. "Promise."

Backing up slowly, Scout kept her big green eyes firmly on Steve even as she wrapped an arm around her father's leg. Fighting at the lump that had formed in his throat, Steve turned his face towards the ceiling as he blinked back tears, and found himself looking directly at Claudia, who was staring at him from over the stairwell railing. Claudia had studiously avoided Steve ever since she'd been told that he was leaving the Warehouse. She hid herself in corners of the Warehouse where no one could locate her, and refused to answer her cell phone or Farnsworth. At the B&B Claudia rarely left Colton's side, and when Steve happened upon the pair in the hallways he was met with glares from Claudia and smug smirks from Colton. Artie took mercy on Steve's shredded nerves and sent Claudia and Colton out on artifact retrievals to get them out of the Warehouse, but whenever they returned the hardened looks and deathly silences continued. Steve could honestly say that he was looking forward to getting away from Claudia's scalding glares. Right at that moment though, as her eyes purposely met Steve's for the first time in weeks, Steve wondered for a split second if he was reading sadness underneath her otherwise stoic expression.

"Claudia," he tried hesitantly, but at the sound of her name, Claudia seemed to snap out of her trance, and she glowered at Steve one last time before disappearing from his view. A second later, Steve heard a door slam, and sighing, he lowered his gaze and reached for his coat.

"I should get going," he murmured, but before he could put his hands on his bags, he found himself surrounded on all sides by the entire Lattimer family.

"Guys," Steve whined. "Come on!"

Pete was using Holden's shirt sleeve as a tissue as he pulled away from the group hug, and even Myka was fighting back tears.

"Take care," she whispered, and Steve gave them all one last wobbly grin before picking up his bags and stepping out of the front door, trying to ignore the heartache he felt that came from walking away from the place he'd come to know as home, and from the only woman he'd ever really love.


	9. Chapter 9

It had become a habit of Steve's each night to stop at the small diner around the corner from his Jersey City apartment before he went home for the night. Most of the time he only stayed for a cup of tea or decaf coffee, but as time passed and the night waitresses got to know Steve by name, he started to find a slice of pie, or sometimes a muffin, accompanying his beverage. Steve had to admit that since his return to Jersey City almost a year earlier, that he'd come to enjoy his nightly conversations with Beth, a waitress who possessed many character traits that he found comparable with Myka's, right down to her relationship with the slightly childish fry cook. Steve had kept his relationships with his fellow ATF co-workers strictly professional since his return, not willing to form any bonds that might cause him to come unstuck at a later point, but Beth had relentlessly worn Steve down until he'd given her that first smile. The way Beth spoke was a result of the trailer park she'd grown up in, but she was a fountain of wisdom and knowledge, and her eyes were already sparkling with warmth when Steve entered the diner at his usual time.

"Hey Blue," she called from behind the counter as Steve shook off his umbrella and stuck it in the stand by the door. "You drinkin' Joe or Earl tonight?"

"Sometimes I think you need to come with a translator," Steve chuckled, and Beth rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Joe's still fresh," she commented, watching as Steve slid into his usual booth and shrugged out of his jacket.

"I did have tea yesterday," Steve mused. "Coffee sounds good."

Beth already had the coffee pot in her hand, and was halfway around the counter before Steve had even finished speaking. Steve couldn't help but chuff out a laugh when he saw the slice of pie that she carried in her other hand.

"You and my mother are starting to have an effect on the size of my waistline," he complained as Beth slid the cherry pie onto the table in front of him. Beth scoffed as she poured Steve's coffee.

"Ain't no one holding a gun to your head," she commented. A grin twitched at the corners of Steve's lips as he accepted his mug. Beth sighed as she placed her free hand on her hip.

"That smile, those beautiful eyes," she murmured. "How come you ain't got a girl, Blue?"

Steve stabbed a fork into his dessert and gave Beth a smirk.

"Girls aren't really what I'm about," he told her. Beth didn't even blink.

"Well, how come you ain't got a boy then?" she shot back, and Steve chuckled as he stuck his fork in his mouth. Beth reached out and patted Steve on the head.

"I gotta go clean some stuff out back, but I just finished readin that Wells thing you put me onto, so when I come back, you and me need to have a conversation, yeah?" she said, and Steve nodded as he continued to eat. As Beth walked away, Steve retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and drew up the latest gallery of photographs that Myka and Pete had sent through to him. Myka loved to send through constant updates of her kids, and Steve couldn't believe how much they'd grown in the time that he'd been away. Holden and George had recently been given haircuts, and were now looking exactly like their father in miniature form. George had a bruise on his forehead, and Holden had a scratch across his nose, which Myka sheepishly explained came from a Warehouse floor escapade gone awry. Artie was apparently suitably unimpressed. Scout meanwhile wore fluffy cat ears in every picture; a remnant of her Halloween costume that she allegedly refused to let go of. Steve was struck again by how much he missed them all.

"I tried to steal those ears and nearly got bitten."

Steve had been so caught up with his phone that he hadn't even noticed when someone had slid into the other side of the booth, but now that that person had spoken, Steve was suddenly alert. The voice was as familiar as his own, but Steve had to wonder if he was hallucinating. He had to be wishing too hard. It couldn't possibly be true. Taking a deep breath, Steve lifted his gaze and felt his heart instantly skip a beat.

"Claudia," he whispered, a hint of disbelief in his tone. The young woman in question gave him a hesitant smile.

"Hey Jinksy," she murmured. Steve fought hard to stop his mouth from hanging open. Claudia Donovan was really sitting in front of him. She was as beautiful as he remembered her, though she'd definitely changed since the last time he'd seen her. Claudia had reverted back to her punk goth image; her hair was cropped short and dyed red, with a bright turquoise streak worked into her bangs. Steve could see silver skull earrings in her ears, and her favourite bat wing necklace poked out from under the collar of her distressed tee. No amount of liquid eyeliner, however, could mask the drawn look on her face, and there was an unhappiness in her eyes that Steve had never seen before. Needless to say, Steve's heart was racing. Claudia was there, and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she'd come to find him to admit what he'd hoped for all along.

"Claudia, what are you doing here?" Steve finally managed to squeeze out. The pretty redhead shrugged her shoulders.

"I was in the neighbourhood," she said nonchalantly, and Steve's lips twitched into a half-smile.

"That's a lie," he told her, and a faint blush appeared on Claudia's cheeks.

"Good to see that hasn't changed," she quipped, reaching across the table and snagging the plate that held Steve's half-eaten piece of pie. Steve was so busy studying Claudia's face that he barely even noticed. He cleared his throat and wrapped his hands around his coffee mug.

"What's going on, Claud?" he asked, and Claudia looked over at him with her spoon still stuck in her mouth. Swallowing her spoonful of pie, she gave Steve a wry look.

"Myka's pregnant," she informed him. This time, Steve couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open.

"Again?" he asked incredulously, and Claudia smirked as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know, they're ridiculous," she quipped. "Artie and I are contemplating buying Pete a vasectomy for his birthday."

Steve smirked at her. Claudia's blush deepened.

"Anyway, Pete and Myka have finally figured out that babies and the Warehouse aren't the winning combination they'd hoped it was going to be," Claudia continued. "They're... they're going to resign."

"They're what?" Steve asked in surprise, and then furrowed his brow. "Wait, why didn't Pete and Myka tell me this themselves?"

Claudia looked down at the table and huffed out a defeated breath.

"Because I asked them to let me," she admitted. "Steve, everything's changing. Vanessa's been leaning on Artie to retire for months now, and she finally hooked him when she showed him the vineyard in Napa Valley."

"Artie's leaving too?" Steve murmured in disbelief. Claudia nodded sadly.

"And just to top it off, Mrs Frederic's decided to make her move as well," she said. Steve looked confused.

"Wait, what?"

Claudia waved her hand around theatrically.

"Claudia Donovan, Caretaker, Warehouse 13," she intoned dramatically, and then shrugged her shoulders. "Well, almost."

"Are you serious?" Steve asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. Claudia looked embarrassed.

"Mrs F and the Regents believe that with all the changes, a fresh start is what the Warehouse needs," she mumbled, still avoiding Steve's gaze. "So, all new agents, all new Caretaker."

Confusion crossed Steve's face.

"All new agents?" he frowned. "What about Colton?"

The expression that crossed Claudia's face was unreadable even to Steve, but it made his heartbeat speed up considerably. Claudia pressed her lips together as she stared out of the window for a moment, and then looked directly at Steve.

"Colton was reassigned, a couple of months ago," she stated monotonously, her face giving nothing away. Steve stared back at her, his mind racing. She wasn't lying, but there was something more that she wasn't saying, and Steve couldn't put his finger on it. He watched her for a moment, and then decided to not press the matter further.

"If he's been gone for months, you've got to have at least one new agent," Steve stated, and Claudia nodded as she blew about a breath.

"Melody's been with us for a little while now, but she's fresh out of the academy, and completely green," she admitted. "She's smart, but she's not even close to being able to be a lead agent. She still needs guidance."

Steve raised an eyebrow at her.

"And you sent her out with Pete?"

Claudia chuckled and reached for Steve's coffee cup.

"Claud, while I really appreciate you coming out here and catching me up on the Warehouse, I'm kind of confused," Steve said gently. "What's going on?'

Claudia looked uncomfortable, and she chewed on her lower lip.

"I, um," she mumbled, tugging at the sleeve of her jacket. "I... I need a favour. I need you to come back, to the Warehouse."

To Steve, the whole diner seemed to fall completely silent, and he had to lean back in his seat as he tried to process what had just been said. Claudia looked pained.

"Steve?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said that you wanted me to come back to the Warehouse," Steve said dumbly. "I think I might be hallucinating."

"This was a stupid idea," Claudia muttered, making to leave. "Forget I was even here."

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Steve cried, causing Claudia to pause just before she slid out of the booth. She turned her face towards Steve, her expression hesitant.

"You're serious?" Steve asked, and Claudia's face crumpled.

"I can't do this on my own!" she whimpered, tears forming in her eyes. "The Regents have lost their minds! I only look like I know what I'm doing. Everyone who knows me knows that I don't know anything. I need help!"

"Claudia, you don't honestly believe that," Steve said softly, studying her miserable expression. Claudia averted her gaze, and Steve suddenly realised that Claudia had squashed down every inch of her pride, and that part of her misery was the fact that she'd had to come to him for help at all. She hadn't come to find him to declare her love. She was frightened, and desperately clutching at straws. If Steve's heart wasn't already battered and bruised, it would break just a little more as he settled back firmly in reality. But then in the back of his mind, a little twinge of hope prodded at him. Colton was no longer at the Warehouse, which meant...

"So... when did you want me back?" he rasped, and Claudia's head shot up, her eyes wide.

"Seriously?" she asked, and Steve let a slow grin cross over his features as he nodded his consent. Claudia dug around in her bag for a moment before sliding a cream coloured envelope across the table.

"Pete finally convinced Myka to marry him," Claudia told him, chuckling at Steve's once again dumbstruck expression. "The ceremony's on Christmas Eve. I was kinda hoping that you'd come, and then just stay."

Steve tapped the wedding invitation he'd been handed against the table top and waited until Claudia started to chew on her lower lip nervously before he spoke again.

"Ok then," he said nonchalantly, and relief washed over Claudia's features. She slid out of the booth and hitched her satchel up onto her shoulder.

"See you soon," she murmured, giving Steve one last shy smile before she turned and headed for the door of the diner. Steve was still watching Claudia's exit when Beth materialised at his side, coffee pot in her hand.

"Blue, I hate to break it to you, but that ain't no boy," she quipped, and Steve grinned goofily as he continued to stare at the diner door.

"That is most definitely true," he mumbled dopily. Beth squinted at him.

"Then what is that look on your face all about?" she asked. Steve leaned back and gave Beth a satisfied smile.

"I'm going home," he said to her. "And I think, just maybe, I might be getting the girl after all."


	10. Chapter 10

Steve barely had time to drop his bags when he entered the B&B before a squealing blur of blue and pink hurtled down the entry hall towards him and launched into his arms.

"Uncle Jinks!" Scout shrieked, wrapping her arms Steve's neck. "You came back!"

"Hey, short stuff," Steve chuckled, reaching up to straighten the fluffy cat ears that had been knocked askew by Scout's enthusiasm. Scout grinned at him as she giggled. Steve raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's with this 'Uncle Jinks' nonsense?" he questioned. "What happened to 'Steeb'?"

"Uncle Jinks, I'm four and a half now," Scout informed him authoritatively. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"Jinks, Jinks, Jinks!"

It was a cacophony of sound as the Lattimer twins chanted Steve's name as they barrelled down the hallway. Steve couldn't help but laugh as George and Holden latched onto his ankles.

"Aw come on!" he laughed teasingly. "Not them too!"

"Guys, at least let him through the door!" Pete called as he appeared, trailing behind his children. The smile on his face was a mile wide.

"Welcome home buddy!" he grinned. Steve had to set Scout down with her brothers so that he could accept Pete's welcoming hug. Steve couldn't deny the elated feeling that flowed through him as he stood surrounded by Lattimers. He'd tried to fight it the entire time he'd been away, but the B&B, and the Warehouse, was home.

"So you finally talked Myka into marrying you," Steve joked, warmed all over by the way that Pete's eyes lit up.

"I knew if I got her pregnant enough times, she'd finally give in," Pete quipped cheekily. "And now you're back, which is awesome, because I am in need of a best man."

"What, me?" Steve asked in shock, watching as the Lattimer kids, clearly bored with the adult conversation, thundered off into the living room. "Shouldn't that be Artie's job?"

"Artie's performing the ceremony," Pete grinned. "We're having a Warehouse wedding." He wrapped an arm around Steve's shoulders to steer him the way that the kids had headed off.

"Well, as long as you're sure," Steve said, and Pete gave him a playful punch on the arm as he nodded. Feeling his face flush with pride, Steve surveyed the living room, bedecked in Christmas decorations, and his eyes fell on Myka, who was adjusting ornaments on the tree that stood in the corner. When she turned to the side to survey her work, pressing a finger to her lips, Steve was able to observe in her profile the already generous curve of her current pregnancy, and he also caught the glint of the engagement ring that rested on her fourth finger. Myka must have felt Steve's eyes studying her, because she turned her head to meet his gaze, and an elated smile immediately lit up her features. The enthusiastic hug that she gave Steve was almost as unbridled as the ones he'd received from her children.

"You're back," she murmured warmly, resting her hands on Steve's cheeks. Steve flicked his eyes towards Myka's rounded stomach, and gave her a rueful look.

"Tell me you didn't do this on purpose," he challenged her playfully, and Myka rolled her eyes as she took a step back.

"Definitely not planned," she muttered, a wry grin plastered on her face as she glanced over to where Pete was dancing with his children to Chipmunk Christmas carols. "Then again, when has anything in my life with Pete gone to plan?"

Steve chuckled under his breath as he glanced around the room. He had just opened his mouth to enquire after Claudia when a young woman stumbled out of the kitchen, a streak of flour smeared across her pretty Asian features.

"Myka, I just finished making the chocolate tarts, but I think..." the girl trailed off as her eyes fell on Steve, and her eyes widened.

"Oh my God, it's you!" she squeaked, letting out a strangled giggle. Steve turned to raise an eyebrow at Myka, who gave him a bemused smirk in reply.

"Steve, this is Melody Kwan," Myka said, gesturing towards the young agent, who seemed to suddenly be aware of the flour on her face, and was scrubbing at her cheek with her sleeve. "Melody's our newest agent. She's done a lot of research on you."

"On all of the agents, really," Melody spoke at a million words a minute, and she tripped over a pile of discarded toys as she stepped forward to greet Steve. Steve put out a hand to steady her, and Melody blushed as she found her footing.

"It's nice to meet you," she murmured dumbly, and Steve offered her an amused grin.

"Melody, why don't you go clean up?" Myka offered gently. "I'll deal with the kitchen. What's wrong with the tarts?"

"I was just wondering where I could put them so Pete doesn't eat them," Melody said sheepishly, and Myka chuffed out a laugh.

"Got it," she winked, and Melody blushed again as she scurried away. Steve watched her go, and then followed Myka into the kitchen.

"Melody's actually a very bright young woman," Myka told Steve, rummaging around in one of the kitchen cabinets and emerging with a stack of storage containers.

"Her grandfather was the curator of the National Museum of Korea," Myka continued as she started to transfer the aforementioned chocolate tarts into the containers. "She's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Asian history, which is why the Regents were drawn to her in the first place. She's been very enthusiastic about joining the Warehouse."

"Clearly," Steve chuckled, helping Myka as she loaded her now full containers into the refrigerator, but he frowned in confusion when Myka turned to the dry erase board on the fridge door and drew on a number.

"What's that for?"

"This refrigerator is full of food for the wedding," Myka explained with a grin as she recapped her pen. "And this board shows the number of days Pete will go without sex after the wedding if he eats anything in this here. The threat seems to be holding so far."

Steve chuckled again as he slid onto a kitchen stool. Myka joined him, reaching for the open bag of Oreos on the counter. Steve glanced towards his friend.

"Where's Claudia?" He tried to make his question sound as nonchalant as possible, but he knew he'd failed miserably when Myka smirked at him.

"She's at the Warehouse," Myka informed Steve, splitting open a cookie. "Honestly, she's spent most of her time there since Colton left." She slid the cookie bag towards Steve, but he ignored the gesture as he studied Myka's face.

"Myka, are Claudia and Colton still together?" Steve asked, and Myka's eyes widened.

"She didn't tell you what happened?" she asked breathlessly, clearly startled. Steve's chest tightened at the worry that crossed Myka's face. Myka huffed out a breath.

"God, Steve, I honestly don't know if I should tell you any of this without Claudia's consent," she murmured, dropping her Oreo on the counter, appetite clearly lost.

"Ok, now you really have to tell me," Steve shot back as he sat up straight, and Myka sighed again, showing Steve the pained look in her eyes.

"You were right about Colton, Steve," Myka murmured hesitantly, chewing on her lower lip. "Claud was miserable after you left, but instead of consoling her, Colton just got mean, and it was like, without you here, Claudia lost the will to fight back. She just folded in on herself. Colton was like her keeper, and she just let him treat her like a captive. We tried to talk to her, Steve, but she shut us all out."

"And none of you thought to tell me this?" Steve asked incredulously. "Why didn't anyone call me?"

"Artie threatened to," Myka admitted, shifting uncomfortably in her seat, "and it was the one time that Claudia came out of her shell. She made it abundantly clear that you had made your choice to leave, that you'd walked away from her, and that you were not welcome back in her life. Honestly, it's been a long time since I saw her that worked up about anything."

"But I thought she wanted me gone!" Steve squeaked out, his stomach churning as tears formed in his eyes. "Honestly, she thought that I abandoned her?"

Myka had a distressed look on her face.

"Claudia would show up at the Warehouse with bruises all over her, but she'd never point the finger at Colton," Myka continued, watching as Steve's fingers curled into a fist. "She claimed clumsiness, and we knew it wasn't the case, but he clearly had her under his control. Every time she'd try to speak up, he squashed her back down. We couldn't break through." Myka paused to let out a pained breath.

"Myka," Steve pressed, and Myka slid her hands over her swollen abdomen as she turned her face towards the ceiling.

"Colton was cheating on Claudia, with any girl he could find really, and Claudia finally called him on it," Myka told Steve as she glanced at him sadly. "They started fighting in their room, but Claudia obviously tried to leave, and they ended up in the upstairs hallway. I don't know, I guess Claudia had found her confidence again, and Colton didn't like that, and he... he hit her, hard. She fell down the stairs, and hit her head hard enough to lose consciousness."

All of the colour had drained from Steve's face. He genuinely felt like he might be sick. He gripped the side of the kitchen counter as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Pete saw it happen," Myka continued, her voice wavering. "Steve, I honestly believe that he would have given Colton a beating of his own right there and then, but Claudia... Pete saw that Claudia was bleeding."

"From hitting her head?" Steve gasped out, and Myka's whole face screwed up in distress as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"She was pregnant, Steve," Myka said softly, her voice cracking. "It was only early; honestly, I'm not even sure that Claudia knew. The fall caused her to miscarry. She was in hospital for a few days."

Steve was actually wheezing and stammering. He'd gone positively pale. He pushed himself off of his stool and started pacing the kitchen.

"She... and he... and... and you!" he spluttered out. "Myka, why didn't you call me? I should have been here!"

"Steve, she was broken," Myka murmured unhappily. "What she needed was a friend, not a fighter. Once upon a time, you were the former, but the way you feel about Claud now... Claudia just wanted Colton gone, with as little fuss as possible. So we organised his transfer, and got him out of here before Claudia even got out of hospital."

Steve gave Myka a glowering glare, and Myka huffed out a breath in reply.

"Steve, believe me, we all wanted to beat the living pulp out of Colton, but what good would it have done, really?" she stressed. "Claudia's recovery was what was important, so we respected her wishes."

"Which meant not telling me," Steve grunted dejectedly. Myka slid off her stool, hand still absently stroking her stomach.

"I'm so sorry, Steve," Myka murmured. Steve wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. He still felt like he was going to be sick.

"Can I offer some advice, for right now?" Myka asked, and Steve leaned back against the refrigerator door, sticking his hands in his pockets. He looked at Myka expectantly, though for some reason he felt like he already knew what she was going to say.

"I know you came back here thinking you were finally going to win Claudia's heart," Myka said softly. "But what she really needs right now is her best friend back. She's still fragile, and this is a massive change. Just be there for her, and let her come to you. Anything else, and you'll only drive her away all over again."

Steve dragged a hand over his face as he let out a despondent sigh. Myka slowly made her way across the kitchen until she was side by side with Steve, and she reached out to take Steve's hand.

"You're the best friend any of us ever had, Steve," she told him. "It's been rotten here without you. We all missed you, so much, but she missed you most of all, even if she would never say it. You're the one who always told Claudia to keep the faith, but now I'm telling you, have a little faith in her."

Steve studied Myka's face for a while, and then gave her a wry grin.

"I can't believe you're leaving, just as I get back," he rasped, hand grazing Myka's abdomen. "How am I supposed to be Uncle Steeb to this one if you're halfway across the country?"

"You'll always be Uncle Steeb, no matter where we are," Myka smiled, resting her hand over Steve's. As if their conversation had been heard, a chorus of little voices shouting Steve's name echoed in from the living room, and sharing a chuckle between them, Myka and Steve let go of each other, and hurried to answer the call of the family they shared and loved in equal measure.

* * *

It wasn't until after the wedding that Steve finally found Claudia alone. She was leaning against the railing of the mezzanine, which was decorated with filmy cream-coloured tulle and winking fairy lights, observing the celebrations below with a whimsical expression on her face. There was a paper plate holding a slice of the red velvet wedding cake in her hand, and every once in a while she would absently stab her plastic fork into the dessert and break off a piece to stick in her mouth. Steve watched her from his perch beside the makeshift dance floor for a while, before slowly climbing the stairs to join her. Claudia looked up at the sound of his footsteps, and she blinked at him for a moment before looking back out towards the Warehouse floor.

"Nice penguin suit," she quipped, a grin playing faintly on her lips. Steve chuffed out a laugh as he adjusted the white bow tie Pete had insisted he wear. In fitting with the Warehouse, the wedding had taken on a vintage theme, with Pete and Steve wearing dinner suits fashioned towards the Titanic era. Myka's gown was a 1920s inspired bead and lace creation, and Claudia herself wore a pretty Grecian-style dress in a deep shade of purple. Steve had barely been able to keep his eyes off her as she'd walked down the aisle ahead of Myka. Claudia nonchalantly held out her plate towards Steve.

"Cake?" she offered. Steve grinned as he took the plate from her hand.

"You ate all of the frosting," he commented, placing the plate on Artie's chess table before joining Claudia at the railing. Claudia smirked.

"Not even sorry," she murmured. She let out a soft sigh as she observed the small group of people gathered below, grinning to herself as she spied George and Holden taking turns to stick their fingers into the wedding cake.

"You did a great job with the ceremony," Steve told Claudia, who smiled her appreciation at the compliment. Steve's heart was doing the fluttery thing it always did when Claudia was around, and his hands were getting clammy. He folded his arms and gripped his biceps to try and hide the sweating. So much for following Myka's advice and playing it cool. It was all Steve could do not to blurt out everything he was feeling right in that moment. Letting out a shaky breath, Steve glanced at Claudia out of the corner of his eye and watched as she attempted to tuck her bangs behind her ear. Underneath her carefully applied makeup, Steve could still make out the troubled unhappiness that seemed permanently etched on her face. Steve was deliberating on what he could say to put a smile on her face when the first strains of a pretty song that Steve recognised but didn't know the words to filtered up from the floor below. Watching as Pete led Myka out to the makeshift dance floor, Steve swallowed hard and then turned towards Claudia.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked tentatively. Claudia turned her head towards him, narrowed her eyes for a moment, and then let out a shaky breath of her own.

"Ok," she murmured, and Steve had to fight to keep his mouth from dropping open in surprise. He held out his hands, and Claudia stepped forward and slid her arms over Steve's shoulders, linking her fingers behind his neck. Steve rested his hands lightly on her waist, and together they started to sway slowly to the music. Claudia glanced up at Steve from under her bangs, a blush creeping over her cheeks. Steve offered her a hesitant smile in return, and after a moment, he felt Claudia relax into his touch. Steve's heart started to pound all over again, and after contemplating the action for a moment, he gently lifted his hand to push Claudia's hair away from her eyes.

"You look beautiful tonight," he murmured gruffly, his voice catching in his throat. "I've really missed you, Claud."

There was trepidation in Claudia's eyes, and Steve could feel her trembling slightly, but when he gently used his thumb to stroke her cheekbone, Claudia's whole body went rigid as panic flashed across her face.

"I have to go," she stammered, pulling away from Steve's touch and hurrying towards the stairs that led back to the Warehouse floor. Steve was already kicking himself as he watched her go.

"Stupid," he muttered to himself as he sank down onto one of Artie's chairs. "You, sir, are very, very stupid."

Picking up the plastic fork Claudia had left behind, Steve broke off a piece of cake and despondently stuck it in his mouth. Laughter echoed up from the Warehouse floor, but Steve could barely hear it over the static roar that filled his head.

* * *

 **A/N: Ugh, guys, I wish I had a way to show you the dresses I picked out for Myka and Claudia - my friend actually squealed when I showed her.**

 **Let me know what you think of this chapter xo**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Guys, I am so sorry for the delay in updating. This story is kicking my butt.**

* * *

Vanessa and Artie packed up the day after Christmas, and while the tears Artie shed over the leaving the only home he'd known for over forty years were completely expected, it was almost a relief to see Claudia cry, and finally show some emotion, when Artie finally said goodbye. Her sudden sentimental display, however, kicked Myka's maternal worry into high gear.

"Maybe we should wait," Myka murmured uneasily, twisting her new wedding ring around her finger as she watched Steve and Pete load the last of the overstuffed suitcases into the back of Myka's SUV. Pete's car, and a U-Haul trailer attached to it, was sitting in the driveway, already loaded with the rest of the Lattimer family's belongings.

"We could stay a little longer," Myka continued, concern written all over her face.

"This says otherwise," Pete quipped, patting his wife's rounded belly with his hand. Myka grimaced, and Pete kissed her cheek reassuringly before loping off to start rounding up his children. Letting out a sigh, Myka walked over to where Steve was leaning against the back of her car, and kicked at the snow on the ground with the toe of her boot. Steve was gazing up at the B&B, where Claudia could be seen sitting at her window. She was strumming at her guitar, a pencil clamped between her teeth, but every once in a while she'd glance down at the yard to check on the happenings below.

"Now I feel like the one who's abandoning her," Myka mumbled guiltily, following Steve's gaze to the window as she leaned back on her car. Steve glanced over at her.

"You know, it's ok to be upset about leaving," he said. "You don't have to make excuses."

Myka gasped out a small laugh as she used a finger to wipe at the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"I was never this emotional with the other kids," she sniffled. Steve nudged her shoulder affectionately with his own, and together they shared a quiet moment of reflection, Myka resting her head on Steve's shoulder as she sighed softly. Their moment ended when Pete stepped out of the B&B with George perched on his hip. Melody followed behind him carrying Scout in a piggyback, and Claudia brought up with rear with Holden tucked under her arm like a squealing, wriggling football.

"This is the last of our stuff," Pete joked, opening the back door of his car so that he could start the process of loading his children into their car seats. Myka went to help him, and Steve watched Claudia for a moment, as had become his habit whenever she was near, before joining Melody and Scout at the back door of Myka's car. Melody barely had to help Scout with the buckles on her car seat, and Steve watched as the little girl and the young agent shared a cheeky goodbye. As Melody scampered away to say her farewells to Pete and the boys, Steve leaned into Myka's car to get as close as he could to Scout. Scout studied him solemnly.

"You're going to be OK, right, Uncle Jinks?" she asked, and Steve's lips curved into a soft smile.

"Don't you worry about me, short stuff," he murmured, reaching out to tweak Scout's nose. "I can look after myself. But you and I need to make a deal, OK?"

Scout blinked at Steve in trepidation. Steve's heart swelled with love for the little girl.

"It's your job to look after everyone, you understand?" he said to Scout. "Your mom and dad might be smart, but everyone knows you're the brains of the operation. Can I count on you to make sure everyone's all right?"

A cocky grin spread over Scout's features.

"No problem," she told him confidently, giving Steve a thumbs up. Steve chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Scout's forehead.

"Love you, kid," he murmured, and Scout giggled as she wrapped her arms around Steve's neck for a final hug. Swallowing at the lump in his throat, Steve gave Scout's hair one last ruffle before hurrying over to Pete's car, where the twins were bellowing at each other from their respective car seats.

"Hey!" Steve barked authoritatively, and George and Holden immediately snapped to attention, though not before Holden managed to spit a raisin at his brother. Steve rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Stay out of trouble," Steve lectured. "Be kind to each other. Look after the new baby. Try to behave. And remember, your sister is in charge, got it?"

The twins blinked at him for a moment, and then put on identical cheesy innocent grins that were inherited directly from Pete.

"Got it," they chorused in unison, and then George threw a raisin at Holden, and the hollering started up all over again. Shaking his head in even as he grinned, Steve turned to Pete, who was already perched in the driver's seat, his keys dangling from his fingers.

"Never have two kids been more like their father," Steve quipped, and Pete chuckled.

"A juice box each and a movie and they'll be asleep," he commented, and Steve couldn't help but laugh.

"I rest my case," he chuckled, holding his hand out for a fist bump. Pete returned the gesture as he gave Steve a rueful smile.

"I know I don't need to say it, but take care of Myka," Steve said gruffly. Pete nodded.

"All over it," he murmured, his voice cracking as he tried to mask his emotion. The two men shared a nod of recognition, and then Pete slid his keys into the ignition of his car. Steve quickly stepped over to Myka's car, where the woman in question sat waiting, her elbows rested on the open window frame.

"It's not goodbye, Steve," Myka said forcefully, before Steve even had a chance to speak. "If you make me cry, I swear to God..."

Steve shook his head, and glanced over towards the B&B, where Claudia stood with Melody on the front steps. Myka followed his gaze.

"Let her come to you," she murmured, her words an echo of their conversation nights before. "You're meant to be, Steve."

Steve cleared his throat loudly as he fought to stop to stop his voice from cracking.

"Call when you get to Denver," he said gruffly. "And every day after that too."

Myka smirked as she blinked rapidly to fight back her tears, and she leaned up to kiss Steve on the cheek. Her move to start her car however was interrupted by a shriek from the backseat.

"No, wait!" Scout howled. Myka craned her neck in panic.

"Baby?" she asked worriedly.

"Aunty Claud!" Scout bellowed, and Claudia hurried over to the car from where she had been standing with Melody.

"Short stuff, we already said goodbye," Claudia frowned, leaning into the car window. Scout huffed out a sigh as she pulled off her cat ear headband and handed it to Claudia. Confusion crossed Claudia's face.

"You're giving me your ears?"

"Uncle Jinks needs a new best girl," Scout stated firmly, her eyes flicking towards Steve for a moment before concentrating on Claudia again. "Can you be that?"

Steve watched curiously as Claudia twisted the headband around between her fingers, but his breath caught in his throat when she reached up and perched the cat ears on her head. She gave Scout a crooked grin.

"Yeah, I can be that," Claudia murmured reassuringly to Scout. The little girl looked both grateful and relieved, and she leaned back in her seat as she sucked on the end of one of her pigtails. Claudia winked at her, but she shot a cautious glance at Steve before she backed away from the car. Myka glanced into the rearview mirror to meet her daughter's eyes.

"Everything ok now?" she asked, and Scout nodded her reply. Shaking her head fondly, Myka started the engine of her car. Leaving one hand resting on the steering wheel, she placed her other hand on the arm Steve was still leaning against the window frame. She opened her mouth to speak, but Steve cut her off with a head shake and a gentle smile.

"It's ok to let go," he murmured to her, and Myka gave him a wobbly smile.

"You never really let go of what you love," she whispered, and the pair shared a final smile before Myka withdrew her hand from his arm. Steve winked at her as he stepped back, and Myka paused just for a moment before she shifted the car into gear. Scout waved at Steve as the car started down the drive, her pigtail still clamped firmly in her mouth, and Steve made sure that he waved back until he was sure Scout couldn't see him anymore. He sighed as the car disappeared from sight, and folded his arms across his chest as he stepped back through the thin snow to where Claudia and Melody stood on the front stoop of the B&B. Claudia tilted her head, the cat ears perched in her hair making the move look almost comical.

"Why so glum, chum?" she quipped, pulling a radio monitor out of her pocket and flipping it open. "No time for sad faces. We've got pings."

"The Warehouse never rests," Melody intoned seriously, but there was an excited grin on her face as she turned and followed Claudia back into the B&B. Almost immediately a shriek of excited surprise filtered back outside. Shaking his head as the realisation that he was suddenly in charge of this ramshackle team dawned on him, Steve perched himself on the front stoop. He sat for a long while, not quite in a meditative state, but mulling over his thoughts all the same, and it was only when his nose started to go numb that he got to his feet to head inside. His action, however, was paused when the sound of car tyres crunching over the thin snow caused Steve to turn back towards the yard, where he watched with mild caution as a small sedan rolled slowly up the driveway. Folding his arms across his chest, Steve watched as a man of a similar age to his own emerged from the vehicle, running a hand through a head of shaggy brown hair as he stared up at the B&B.

"I'm sorry, we're actually fully occupied," Steve called, taking a step forward. The other man swung a satchel onto his shoulder as he pushed the car door closed.

"Are you Steven Jinks?" he asked as he took a few steps towards the front door. Steve looked taken aback.

"I am," he said slowly, furrowing his brow. "Can I help you?"

"Good to meet you," the other man said, offering a hand out for a shake as he gazed distractedly over Steve's shoulder. "Huh, not what I was expecting, but it'll work."

"I'm sorry, should I know you?" Steve asked in confusion, his question finally earning the attention of the new guy.

"Wait, she didn't tell you I was coming?" he asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. Steve stared back at him in disbelief.

"Who didn't tell me what?" he questioned.

"Mrs Frederic," came the reply. "I'm Ethan Rothschild. The Regents sent me. I'm your new Warehouse agent."

* * *

Ethan Rothschild turned out to be Mrs Frederic's parting gift before she handed over the Caretaker reins. A member of the IT division of the Secret Service, Ethan was something of a technological genius, and had spent most of his working hours surfing through Secret Service data pages that were far beyond his actual clearance. He'd stumbled across the Warehouse files and come up against Claudia's almost unbreakable firewalls, but the resistance had only served to peak his interest.

"I almost had that first firewall down when Mrs Frederic turned up at my desk," Ethan commented as he recounted the story to the Warehouse team a few days after his arrival at the B&B. "Your tech guy is good, but I almost had him."

"I'm the tech guy," Claudia said dryly, glaring at him from over her coffee mug. "Trust me, you did not almost have anyone."

Ethan winced sheepishly. Beside him, Melody folded her arms across her chest and glowered at the new arrival.

"Why do the Regents think that I need a babysitter?" she complained, directing her question at Claudia.

"Come again?" Claudia asked, the fact that she was completely unimpressed lost on the Warehouse agent in front of her, though Steve could read it loud and clear.

"He's, like, Steve's age!" Melody whined. "I've been here longer! I'm supposed to be the senior agent!"

If it hadn't been for the fact that Claudia looked ready to smack someone down, Steve would have laughed at just how much Melody reminded him of the Claudia he'd had to deal with in his first days at the Warehouse. Instead, he watched as Claudia huffed out a cranky breath and rose from her seat at the table.

"Where are you off to?" he asked cautiously. Claudia looked up from shoving a sheath of documents into her satchel.

"Regent Headquarters," she said nonchalantly. "It's handover day. Time to become a Caretaker, and all that jazz."

Steve shot to his feet so fast that his chair tipped over and hit the floor. Claudia raised her eyebrows at him, a challenge for Steve to open his mouth.

"Going somewhere?" she enquired, and Steve gave her a dumbfounded look.

"I'm coming with you," he stated.

"Uh, no you're not," Claudia shot back, slinging the strap of her satchel over her shoulder.

"Claudia, this is a big deal," Steve said to her, but his protest was already faltering.

"Steve, it's really not," Claudia told him bluntly. "It's not a formal ceremony or anything. Mrs F steps down, I step up. Whole thing's over in five minutes."

"Claud, don't you think you should have a friend with you?" Steve tried weakly. Claudia was already pulling her car keys out of her pocket.

"You have enough to deal with here," she said, indicating Melody and Ethan, who had lost interest in Claudia and Steve and were instead goading each other like small children that needed to be separated. Steve huffed out an exasperated breath. Claudia gave him a wry grin as she paused in the doorway.

"Just remember, you've got a whole Warehouse catalogue to memorise," she quipped. "Big day for you too, Special Agent in Charge Jinks."

Before Steve had the chance to respond, Claudia slipped out of the doorway, once again leaving Steve staring dumbfounded at her retreating back. Steve was starting to get frustrated. Every time he felt like he'd had a breakthrough with Claudia, it was like she sensed it, and she withdrew all over again. Unfortunately for him, Claudia was right about the fact that he had other things to deal with. Melody and Ethan required training, and as would soon become apparent, constant supervision. Ethan may have been brilliant, but that brilliance meant that he grew bored easily, and Melody, with her eagerness to please combined with her need to be recognised as competent, provided a perfect target for terrorising. It was impossible to send them out in the field alone together, and Steve began to realise just how much patience Artie had needed to harness when it came to dealing with the previous team. To top it all off, the enormity that was the Warehouse seemed to be on a mission to overwhelm Steve at every turn. As the member of the previous team that had spent the least amount of time in the Warehouse, it seemed almost ludicrous that Steve would end up as the agent left to run it all. Steve kicked himself mentally for not showing more interest while Artie had been schooling Myka. He went to bed at night, when he got to bed at all, both physically and mentally exhausted. The worst part was, he felt further away from Claudia than he ever had before. She was in the Warehouse every day, connecting with her charge, but it was like she found the farthest corners and the darkest quadrants to hide in, and Steve could still go days without seeing her. A breakthrough seemed impossible, and after a while, even though he couldn't say he was ready to give up, Steve put his focus on other things, because it felt like it was the only way that he'd ever get through.

* * *

 **Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you to the favouriters and followers!**


	12. Chapter 12

It was Ethan, of course, who set the artifact free. Incapable of leaving things alone, Ethan been showing off in the office with the cutlass they'd recently acquired, and he'd swung around too quickly and knocked over a box that had been sitting on one of the back shelves for as long as Steve could remember. The box, decorated in fine Japanese symbols, wobbled precariously for a moment before it flipped off the shelf and hit the floor, releasing its contents. A loud fluttering noise filled the office, and then as one, the freed contents of the box dove for the open door of the office, and despite her best efforts, Melody just wasn't quick enough to fling the door closed before they escaped.

"Damn it, Ethan!" Steve snapped, snatching the box up off the floor and studying it, searching for a clue as to what it had contained. Very slowly, Ethan slid the cutlass onto the desk and looked around sheepishly. Melody walked over and punched him in the arm.

"You are an embarrassing cliché that represents your entire gender," she sneered, and Ethan curled his lip up at her.

"Enough!" Steve cut in before their argument could take off. "Ethan, get on the network and find out what this artifact is."

His directions to Melody were cut off by the buzzing of his Farnsworth from the desk behind him. Steve scrambled to answer it, and was quickly taken aback by Claudia's expectant face staring back at him.

"Steve, is there anything going on that I need to know about?" she drawled, an eyebrow cocked like some sort of challenge. Steve tried his best to arrange his features into a neutral expression.

"No, everything's fine," he said, wincing as a crash sounded behind him and Melody let out a yelp.

"Then why did a flock of paper birds just fly down Tennessee-12?" Claudia quipped. Steve scratched at his head sheepishly as he avoided her all-knowing gaze.

"Let's fix this, Steve," Claudia sing-songed, closing her Farnsworth. Steve turned back to face the office and found Melody scrabbling to clean up the drawer of reference cards she'd dropped on the floor, while Ethan waited at his computer with an artifact manifest drawn up on the screen.

"Sadako's thousand paper cranes," he told Steve, glancing at him hopefully. "Good news is, they're not dangerous. It's a peace artifact."

"Unfortunately, that's not a good enough reason to let them roam the Warehouse forever," Steve said grimly, shoving his Farnsworth in his pocket. "They could set something off something far worse. So now, we're going on a recon mission."

Two hours later, they'd retrieved the majority of the origami cranes, with surprisingly minimal damage to the Warehouse shelves, though Steve was going to have some fun explaining to the Regents why the music box located in Rutgers-82 had suddenly started playing a different tune. Claudia had joined the group partway through the hunt, snagging a number of the paper birds on her own, and despite his focus on the matter at hand, Steve couldn't help but notice the way that joy seemed to return to Claudia's face as she climbed the stacks and ran down the aisles. Steve sent Melody and Ethan back to the office with 998 recaptured paper cranes, staying back with Claudia to snag the last two stragglers. Together, they crouched at the end of an aisle. Claudia held an antique butterfly catching net, and Steve's palm twitched against the mini Tesla clipped to his belt loop. As one, they peered around the corner of the aisle, and then pressed themselves against the end post. Claudia looked up at Steve, her eyes shining with delight and purpose, and Steve got so distracted by her beauty that he almost missed what she was saying to him.

"They're teasing us," Claudia muttered, a grin playing on her lips nonetheless. "So much for peace artifacts."

"It's probably been fifty years since they were last out of that box," Steve smirked. "Must be nice to spread their wings."

"Yep, well, they've had their fun, and now it's time to go nighty-night," Claudia quipped, gripping the handle of the butterfly net. "You feint left, I'll go right, got it?"

Steve grinned as he nodded, and then pushed off the post a second after Claudia, chasing after her as they ran down the aisle. Claudia let out a delighted little chuckle, surprising Steve, and confusing the paper birds. They fluttered slowly upwards, and Claudia swung the net after them, coming within inches, but they were just out of her reach. Claudia rolled her eyes as she dropped the net on the floor and pulled a neutraliser bag out of her back pocket.

"Give me a boost," she said to Steve, who only hesitated for a moment before bending his knees slightly and cupping his hands. Claudia placed her sneakered toe into the step formed by Steve's palms, gripping one of his shoulders for balance, and then stretched upwards with the bag as Steve raised her up. With an elegant swing of the open bag, Claudia scooped up the paper cranes.

"Gotcha, you little suckers," she gloated, sealing the bag, and then let out a little squeal of surprise as she lost her balance. Steve stumbled backwards as Claudia wobbled precariously in his hold, and he tripped over his own feet. Together, they toppled over, and Steve instinctively wrapped his arms around Claudia as they hit the floor. Once the initial shock had passed, and the pair both realised that the other was unhurt, Claudia burst into hysterical laughter.

"Aw man, you need to work on your landing, Jinksy," she cackled. "That was abysmal!"

Despite the pain that indicated that he was going to have a decent bruise on his butt as a result of the fall, Steve was unable to stop himself from chuckling, an automatic reflex caused by Claudia's laughter. He couldn't help but notice that despite the fact that he still had his arms locked around the redhead's waist, she wasn't attempting to break free. Instead, she continued to giggle as she turned her head so that her gaze met her friend's. Her movement brought the tip of her nose only millimetres away from Steve's, and slowly, her laughter faded away. She let out a shuddering breath as her fingers curled into the collar of Steve's shirt. Steve swallowed hard.

"You all right?" he asked gruffly, and Claudia made soft noise in her throat in reply. Tentatively, Steve lifted a hand to brush her bangs away from her eyes. He felt Claudia start to quiver, but she still didn't try to move away from him. Steve couldn't let the moment pass by.

"Claudia," he murmured. "My beautiful girl. I love..."

Without warning, Claudia let out a panicked squeak and reared backwards, frantically scrabbling to her feet as fast as she could.

"I have to go," she stammered, hurrying towards the end of the aisle. Steve pushed himself to his feet and rushed after her.

"Claudia, wait!" he pleaded, catching up with her as she went to turn into the next aisle.

"Steve, I have to go," Claudia repeated, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on her exit path. Steve let out an exasperated growl, and he reached out to grab hold of Claudia's wrist to stop her from going any further. As soon as his fingers wrapped around her arm, Claudia let out a frightened scream as she turned to face him.

"Don't touch me!" she yelped, and Steve's heart plummeted to his stomach as he took in the absolute terror clearly evident in her wild-eyed look. He quickly withdrew his hand as he realised his mistake, and Claudia snatched her arm away, a wounded expression crossing her face.

"God, Claud, I'm so sorry," Steve breathed, a sick feeling twisting his stomach into knots. Claudia's lower lip wobbled slightly.

"I told you I had to go," she whimpered.

"Claudia, we have to talk about this," Steve said softly, his voice laced with concern.

"We really don't," Claudia murmured back, still rubbing softly at her wrist. She was deliberately looking anywhere but Steve's face.

"Claud, please," Steve begged, his fingers twitching at his side. He was desperate to touch her, but it was clear that Claudia was still traumatised by the way she'd been treated by Colton. Claudia scuffed the toe of her sneaker along the ground as she hung her head.

"I made a mistake," she whispered mournfully. "I thought I could do this."

"Caretaking?" Steve asked, confusion crossing his face. "Claud, you're doing a great job."

"No, not caretaking," Claudia sniffled, her face crumpling up in pain. "You, Steve. I shouldn't have brought you back here. Being around you is killing me."

Steve inhaled sharply as his eyes widened in dumbfounded shock.

"Claudia, you've barely said two words to me the entire time I've been back!" he stammered. Claudia threw her head back for a moment, but when she finally directed her gaze at Steve, he was baffled to find tears welling in her eyes.

"I can't talk to you!" she cried, the first tear sliding down her cheek. "Every time I get close to you, I can feel everything you're feeling!"

"The fact that I love you is killing you?" Steve gasped out. Claudia's tears were falling freely now, and then, without much warning, she burst into sobs.

"I don't deserve it!" she howled, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't deserve to be loved! I'm a horrible person, and I did something stupid, and now I can't have anything good in my life!"

"What?" Steve shouted in horrified surprise. "Claudia, you can't be serious! You haven't done anything wrong!"

"I let him control me!" Claudia wailed back at him. "I should have walked away, but I just let him use me, and hit me, and walk all over me, because I didn't care anymore!" She paused to roughly swipe the back of her hand under her nose.

"It's my fault," she hiccupped. "I was selfish, and I... I mean... I just... I was so mad at you! I thought I was happy, and then you just dropped that bomb of feels right on me! You messed up my head, Steve."

Steve felt a sharp pang in his gut at the accusation, and he swallowed hard as he watched Claudia try to compose herself. She failed miserably, her whole body quivering as the wracking sobs continued.

"I let it go too far," she whimpered. "I should have said something, but I let it go too far. And then you were gone."

"I thought it was what you wanted," Steve murmured weakly. He could feel his own tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. Claudia squeezed her eyes shut as she heaved out a shuddering breath.

"The first time he hit me, it was because I was crying over you," she told Steve, her voice wobbling. "He told me I deserved it. I... I believed him. It was entirely my fault. So, when he did it again, I let him. And after a while, it didn't even seem to matter, until..."

"Claudia, what he did was wrong," Steve said firmly, taking a step towards her and cringing at the way Claudia retreated backwards. She shook her head violently.

"It was my fault," she repeated, her voice rising a few octaves as she spoke. "I let him tell me I was worthless, and I let him put his hands on me, and I let him push me! It was my fault! I did it! I killed my baby!" She let out a tiny distressed shriek as she clapped her hands over her mouth, and at that moment, Steve's heart shattered.

"Oh Claudia, that was not your..."

"I killed my baby!" Claudia howled hysterically. "I did it, Steve, and nothing you, or Myka, or Artie, could ever say will change that! I am a murderer, and I don't deserve to be happy, or to be loved!"

Steve could only stand there and watch as Claudia flung herself against the stacks and slid to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably as she pulled her knees up to chest and buried her face in her crossed arms. He felt so useless. She was the woman he loved, and every heaving sob she let out made it feel like he was being punched directly in the gut. Swallowing hard against the lump in his throat, Steve took a tentative step forward. Without looking up, Claudia thrust the hand still clamped around the neutraliser bag containing the paper cranes upwards.

"You need to leave me alone," she said, her voice muffled. His chest tight, Steve reached out and took the bag from Claudia's grasp, and watched as she curled in on herself again. Allowing himself to release a dejected sigh, Steve gave Claudia's huddled form one last forlorn glance before he slowly made his way through the labyrinth of aisles that made up the floor plan of the Warehouse.

* * *

 **A/N: Help a poor writer out and tell her how her words are doin? xo**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I have been slow to post this and I am eternally sorry xo**

* * *

"You're not leaving, Steve," Myka said to him bluntly via the face time conversation they were engaged in a few nights later. Steve had spent the previous half an hour catching up with the Lattimer kids, thought it had been less of a conversation where the twins were involved and more of a rollercoaster ride as George and Holden hollered at the phone and at each other, making frantic grabs at the screen that resulted in sticky fingerprints and the phone eventually hitting the floor. The boys had eventually gotten bored and disappeared from sight, leaving Steve with the opportunity to engage with the ever-precocious Scout, who was clearly thriving in her new environment, and couldn't stop talking about the friends she'd made at school, though she continued to profess her despair at having left her Uncle Jinks behind. Myka had needed to prise her phone out of her daughter's hands in order to get the opportunity to talk to Steve. She'd sat and listened patiently as Steve filled her in on Claudia's breakdown, and how hopeless he felt around her, but Steve was slightly taken aback at Myka's bluntness when he told her that he was wondering if being in the Warehouse was doing more damage than good.

"Myka, she can't even look at me," Steve protested. "I feel like my very presence is causing her pain."

"Steve, you already left her once, and look how well that turned out," Myka said dryly, wincing as the echo of shattering glass sounded behind her, followed by a chorus of tiny voices blaming everyone but themselves. Steve heard Pete declaring that he was all over it, but it was then he was able to clearly observe the tiredness etched over Myka's features.

"Myka, are you all right?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. Myka huffed out a soft sigh as she rubbed at her eyes absently.

"This pregnancy is kicking my ass," she admitted softly. "I can't believe I still have a month to go. The doctor keeps telling me to rest, but George and Holden are constantly at each other's throats, and you just heard all about Scout's never-ending social engagements."

Steve frowned.

"I told Pete to look after you," he muttered, and Myka managed a tired smile.

"He is looking after me," she murmured, love for her partner evident in her tone. "As it turns out Steve, this is what a normal life looks like."

"And you thought that normal wasn't in your wheelhouse," Steve cracked, leaning back on the couch as a grin crept across his face. Myka stuck her tongue out at him as she rolled her eyes, but there was a definite smile behind her actions. She might have been tired, but Steve could tell that Myka was happy underneath it all. So it was clear that when she told him that leaving the Warehouse again was not an option, that she really meant it.

"Steve, I know how hard this must all be for you, but honestly, the fact that Claudia even managed to break down in front of you is a big step forward," Myka told her friend as she shifted in her seat. "You do see that, don't you?"

Steve felt a lump form in his throat, and he let out a shuddering breath. Suddenly it was Myka wearing the look of concern.

"Steve?"

"I feel so helpless," Steve croaked out. "Claudia used to come to me with all of her problems, and I always knew how to fix them. But this..."

"This is going to take time," Myka stated softly. Steve nodded unhappily, swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. Myka touched a finger to the phone screen, as if she was reaching out to try and comfort him, and Steve gave her a forlorn smile.

"I should let you get back to the kids," he murmured gruffly. Myka huffed out a sigh as her mouth twitched in a half-grin, but that grin grew when her family started shouting their goodbyes to Steve from some corner of the room she was in. Steve couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know where to find us," Myka reassured him. "Stay strong, Jinks."

Steve waved at her as he said his goodbyes, and then dropped his phone beside him on the couch as he blew out a loud breath. Myka was right, as she always was, that his situation with Claudia was going to need time to settle, but he still couldn't help but wonder if maybe, in the end, both he and Claudia were too stubborn to ever let things get to where they needed to be.

* * *

A few weeks later, Steve made the executive decision to send Melody and Ethan out on their first unsupervised artifact retrieval. His agents were thrilled, though their bickering started from the moment Steve handed over their assignment folders.

"Hey!" Steve barked, slamming his hand down on the table to turn their attention back his way. Melody's cheeks flushed, and Ethan raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Guys, we have talked about this," Steve said authoritatively. "If I find out that you started fighting in front of suspects, or witnesses, this all comes to an end, you understand? You're both still on probation, and as much as I like you, I need agents I can trust."

"Please don't go to the Regents!" Melody immediately begged, kicking at Ethan's shoe as he crowded into her personal space. "We'll be the best agents you've ever seen."

Ethan reached around Melody to collect the Tesla and Farnsworth that were laid on the table.

"Don't worry boss, we know the rules," he quipped. "Besides, I can always lock the kid in the car if she gets overexcited."

Melody opened her mouth to snap at the bait, but settled for just glaring at Ethan instead as she caught Steve's warning look.

"I'll drive," Melody announced firmly, tucking her dossier under her arm and heading for the exit. Steve watched the pair disappear from sight, but he quickly hit the automatic closing mechanism on the door as an argument about who got to hold the Tesla echoed down the umbilicus. Squashing down the feeling that he'd just made a big mistake, Steve wandered towards the haphazard card catalogue, giving the suit of armour by the door a fond pat on the helmet as he passed. The card catalogue really was an unmitigated disaster that had been ignored for far too long. Artie's filing system made sense to absolutely no one but Artie. Sighing, Steve scratched at his head absently before pulling the first drawer out of the catalogue and settling down at the nearby table, where he was still working studiously, while contemplating shooting himself in the foot just to cure his boredom, when Claudia entered the office, pulling a cart laden with boxes behind her. Steve blinked at the redhead for a moment, and then dropped the handful of cards he was holding as he let out a shuddering sigh.

"Trying to fix that will kill you," Claudia quipped, staring at the floor as she kicked down the brake on the cart. "Don't you have agents to force that on?"

"They're on a snag and bag," Steve informed her, pushing his seat back as he rose to his feet. He let out a small moan as he stretched his arms above his head, causing several of his joints to crack and pop. Claudia raised an eyebrow at him.

"Careful old man, you'll be wearing glasses and sprouting extra eyebrow hair before you know it," she cracked, her lips twitching in the beginnings of a smile. Steve's hands flew to his forehead.

"Oh no, they're not growing in already, are they?" he asked in mock-panic, his heart warming as he watched a slow grin spread across Claudia's face.

"You're good for now," she drawled with a smirk, lifting one of the boxes off of her cart and placing it on the table. She wrinkled her nose as she wiped her dusty hands on the back pockets of her jeans.

"We need an intern," she muttered. "Remind me pick up an intern sometime soon."

Steve cocked his head as he wandered around the table towards his computer desk.

"What is all that stuff?" he asked, watching as Claudia sauntered off towards the storage room, and then blinking in concern when she emerged with a crowbar.

"Fresh artifacty goodness," Claudia informed him, twisting the crowbar in her hands, "that for some reason, I, Caretaker Donovan, am unpacking, because I'm yet to find a replacement for myself."

Despite her grumbling, there was a sparkle in her eyes, and when Steve smiled at her, a faint blush crossed Claudia's cheeks. As Claudia set to work on her first crate, Steve settled onto a desk chair and turned to his computer, where there were several files waiting to be reviewed and recorded. Leaning over, Steve switched on the small radio he kept by his computer, checking over his shoulder to make sure that Claudia was all right with the music that filled the office. The pretty redhead nodded subtly as she continued to work, so Steve picked up the first of his files. He didn't look up when it happened, but when Claudia started to sing softly under her breath, Steve couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. They continued their tasks side by side, not talking, but the most comfortable they'd been around each other for the first time in what Steve felt was forever. He was so settled in what he was doing that when his cell phone chimed to indicate that he had a text, he actually jumped, the squeak and rattle of his chair causing Claudia to emit a throaty chuckle. Shaking his head ruefully, Steve reached for his phone. Opening his message, he couldn't stop the elated expression that immediately plastered itself across his face.

"Scout Ophelia, Holden Arthur, and George Fitzwilliam, are very excited to tell everyone that their baby sister, Matilda Daisy Lattimer, has arrived," Steve read aloud. "Our mom and dad say that she's the final piece of our family puzzle. Lots of love, the Lattimers."

Steve gazed fondly for a moment at the attached picture of his newest niece.

"Hey Claud," he started, "did you want to see-"

His sentence was abruptly cut off by the distinct sound of a person collapsing onto the office floor. Swivelling around in his chair, Steve hurriedly threw his phone back on the desk as he scrambled to his feet at the sight of Claudia lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Claudia?" Steve bit out, panic causing his heartbeat to accelerate as he scrambled out of his chair and dropped to his knees by the young woman's side. He put his fingers to the underside of her jaw, checking for a pulse and finding it beating steadily. The rise and fall of her chest showed that Claudia was still breathing. Steve frowned as he studied her. It was like she'd just fallen asleep right where she'd been standing. Peeling off his sweatshirt, Steve balled it up and tucked it under Claudia's head. She had to be under the influence of an artifact, that was for certain, but whatever it was wasn't at all obvious. The Caretaker was still wearing her regulation purple gloves, though a small wooden box was gripped in her fingers. After hurriedly pulling on a glove of his own, Steve reached for the box, twisting it around as he looked for any mark that might indicate what had caused Claudia's collapse. Other than the ornate gold filigree that decorated the edge of the box, there was nothing distinctive about it. The only other factor that grasped Steve's attention was that the box was empty. Clearly, whatever had affected Claudia had disappeared. Steve let out a low whine as he flicked his gaze over Claudia's features.

"What am I supposed to do, Claud?" he murmured. "Artie would have called the Caretaker. You've kind of cut that line right off."

Claudia slept on. Steve sighed as he slid his hands underneath Claudia's body, tucking her up into his arms as he pushed himself onto his feet. He walked across the office and gently placed the Caretaker onto the couch in the corner, arranging her as delicately as he could to ensure her comfort. He gently pushed her bangs off her face, noting forlornly how she finally looked peaceful for the first time in as long as he could remember.

"I'll figure this out, Claud," he murmured. "Just hold on."


	14. Chapter 14

When Ethan and Melody returned to the Warehouse a few hours later, their elation at successfully completing their first solo snag and bag quickly dissipated when they found Steve tearing frantically through books and files, while Claudia slept on behind him. The office looked like an explosion had gone off, with piles of papers and books strewn on every available surface, and the computers had been set to scan through the electronic files. Steve was borderline hysterical, and as soon as Ethan managed to get his attention for more than a second, and the situation was explained, the Warehouse agents immediately joined in the search for answers. Melody headed out to the Warehouse floor, and Ethan started to put his hacker skills to their best work, while Steve continued hitting the books, all the while keeping a panicked eye on the sleeping form of the girl he loved. Despite their best efforts, and a complete lack of sleep on Steve's part, two days later they were no closer to finding the artifact that had put Claudia into her comatose state, and Steve's resolve was unravelling at a rapid pace. He'd never felt more out of his depth, and it was twisting his stomach in knots. Calling Myka and Pete for help was clearly out of the question, and as bad as the situation was, Steve knew that Claudia would kill him if he got Artie involved. Steve wondered if the Regents had an inkling that something was amiss; their Caretaker was down, after all, and the Warehouse had its odd little way of communicating to those linked to it. They were clearly keeping out of the situation if they did know, so Steve stopped himself short of picking up the Farnsworth. He settled for pacing around the office, tripping over books and muttering in frustration. Ethan looked up from the computer screen as Melody emerged from the Warehouse floor, her hair wild and her eyes glassy from exhaustion.

"I've tried everything I could think of," she choked out, her voice getting shrill towards the end of the sentence. "There's nothing."

"I wish I could say it wasn't possible, but artifacts disappear all of the time," Steve growled. "There really is nothing here."

Ethan squinted as he glanced between Steve, who stood behind the table where Claudia had been unpacking artifacts, and Melody, who stood in the doorway that led to the Warehouse floor. He rose slowly to his feet, the computer chair creaking beneath him.

"What if," Ethan asked hesitantly, studying the table before him, "what if the artifact didn't disappear at all?"

"Ethan, we've looked everywhere!" Melody protested, stepping further into the office, but Ethan held up a hand to quiet her as he stepped forward.

"Ethan," Steve rumbled warningly as the younger agent picked up the filigree-decorated box and cracked it open.

"Barely a dent," Ethan murmured, holding up the box to display the lining to his senior. "It's small. I just can't help but think..." He trailed off as he put down the box and then gripped the edge of the table. Without warning, he pushed the table a couple of inches to the left, sending piles of books toppling to the floor. Steve jumped back in surprise.

"What the hell?" he yelped, but Ethan seemingly ignored him, disappearing from Steve's view for a moment as he hunkered down under the table. When he emerged, he was wearing a purple glove, and there was a thin object no more than a few inches long gripped between his finger and thumb.

"Stuck between the floorboards," he said softly, holding his hand up. Steve practically dove across the table as Melody hurried to Ethan's side.

"Is that a needle?" Melody whispered. Ethan glanced at her.

"I'd wager that you're probably better-versed on fairytales than me, princess," he quipped, "but if I'm not mistaken, I'd guess that this is probably Sleeping Beauty's spinning wheel spindle. And I'd probably say that Claudia had a bit of a finger-pricking incident."

Melody's wide-eyed gaze landed directly on Steve.

"Fairytales are real?" she gasped out.

"Most fairytales are steeped in some kind of reality," Steve murmured distractedly, keeping his eyes on the needle in Ethan's hand as he reached around his agents to retrieve a neutraliser bag from a desk drawer. He shook it open and glanced over at where Claudia slept.

"We can have a lesson on the topic later," he murmured, and Melody nodded. Without saying a word, Ethan dropped the spindle into the open bag, and then ducked along with his co-workers when a shower of sparks erupted as a result of the neutralisation. The group reacted as one as they turned towards their Caretaker, and their immediate disappointment also registered in unison.

"It didn't work," Ethan stated, dumbstruck. Melody hesitantly rested a hand on his shoulder, and the pair watched as their boss hurried across the room to Claudia's side. Dropping to his knees beside the couch, Steve gently cupped Claudia's cheek with his palm.

"Wake up, Claud," he murmured encouragingly, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. "Come back to me." He let out a shuddering breath as he watched for any sign that Claudia had heard him, but her breathing remained steady and her eyelids didn't even flutter. Steve cast a crestfallen look over his shoulder at his agents.

"Either of you have any other brilliant ideas?" he croaked out. Melody glanced at Ethan for a moment, before she took a tiny step forward and raised her hand tentatively, as if she was still in a classroom.

"Sleeping Beauty didn't wake up because they found the spindle," she stated hesitantly. Steve furrowed his brow at her.

"What are you saying?" he asked, and Melody blew out a hesitant breath.

"Sleeping Beauty could only be woken one way," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she avoided Steve's gaze. "She had to receive true love's kiss."

"Ok, now you've gone mad," Steve shot back, blinking at her. Ethan threw up his hands as he rolled his eyes.

"Steve, man, I know that you're the boss and all, but if you think for a minute that the kid and I haven't seen the way you and Claudia make Bambi eyes at each other, you're the mad one," he said flatly. Steve winced at the accusation, and glanced towards Melody, whose cheeks flushed.

"Myka and Pete used to talk," she mumbled uncomfortably. "I know enough of the story. If anyone is going to kiss her, it has to be you."

"I can't kiss her!" Steve protested weakly. "She'll kill me."

"You'd rather she stays like that forever?" Ethan asked bluntly, swiping at the warning punch that Melody aimed at his kidney. Steve chewed on his lower lip as he turned back towards Claudia, unhappily flicking his gaze over her features. His stomach twisted in knots, he leaned forward to brush a loose strand of hair off of her forehead.

"You know if I thought there was another way, I'd do it," he murmured apologetically. Claudia made no indication that she'd heard him, much as Steve expected. Swallowing hard, and trying to ignore the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears, Steve cautiously took Claudia's chin in his fingers, and very gently placed his lips on hers. He could taste the lingering remains of her cinnamon spice lip gloss, and he suddenly worried that his four-day growth was scratching against her soft skin. Reluctantly, he pulled his face away from hers. His face was only inches from Claudia's when she suddenly drew in a sharp intake of breath, and her eyelids fluttered open.

"Jinksy," she rasped, her eyes registering surprise. "You're very close to me right now."

Steve couldn't stop the grin that formed on his face.

"Hey," he breathed out. "You're OK."

Claudia's brow furrowed, and she lifted a hand so that she could press a thumb to Steve's lips.

"Why are you wearing my lip gloss?" she murmured, and then turned her head in confusion. "Wait, why am I on the couch? Why are you all standing here watching me?" She put her hand to her lips, and her eyes widened in panic as she scrambled into a sitting position.

"Did you just kiss me?" she squeaked out. Steve suddenly looked very uncomfortable, and Claudia's eyes widened further.

"You kissed me?" she shrieked, shoving past Steve as she pushed to her feet and practically flew across the office in an attempt to distance herself from the situation.

"What the hell, Steve?" she howled, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You've been asleep for two days!" Steve protested. "It was a fairytale artifact!"

"So you decided to damsel in distress me?" Claudia yelped back.

"They suggested it!" Steve said defensively, pointing at Ethan and Melody. The pair had backed themselves right up against a desk, but at the accusation, Ethan curled his upper lip in disgust.

"Like you were coming up with any other ideas," he sneered. He was too slow to avoid the smack in the chest that Melody delivered as Claudia and Steve both glared at him. Claudia only took a moment before she directed her glare back at Steve.

"You should have found another way," she growled. Steve stared back at her for a moment, at all of the anger and hurt on her face, and it was like he suddenly felt the last of his patience fray away.

"You know what, Claudia, this is getting ridiculous," he snapped. Claudia's mouth dropped open.

"Excuse me?" she gasped out in shock. "What did you just say to me?"

"Ethan and I are going to spend some time in the Ovid Quarter," Melody announced loudly, grabbing Ethan by the shirtsleeve and yanking him towards the door. Neither Claudia nor Steve responded, instead intensely staring each other down.

"You heard me, Claud," Steve said evenly. "It's gone on long enough."

Claudia folded her arms across her chest.

"You wanna say that to my face?" she challenged.

"You know, I would, but every time I get close to you, you run away from me!" Steve shot back, and Claudia gave him her dirtiest look.

"You have no idea what I'm going through," Claudia growled.

"Because you won't tell me!" Steve exploded. "You said you needed me here! You practically begged me to come back to the Warehouse, but all you've done since I got here is push me away!"

Claudia's face had gone scarlet, and she tugged angrily on the sleeve of her shirt.

"We're all sick of walking on eggshells around you," Steve continued. "You're supposed to be in charge, but we have to continually handle you with kid gloves."

"I don't have to put up with this," Claudia muttered, making a beeline for the door. Steve threw his hands up in the air.

"Go ahead, Claudia, walk away," he snapped. "You've proven how good you are at it, again and again."

Claudia whirled around with her hand still on the doorknob.

"You know, I had you pegged for a lot of things, Steve, but insensitive jerk wasn't one of them," she bit out angrily. Before Steve had a chance to respond, she flung the door open and stormed off, leaving the senior agent staring at the space she'd once occupied. Frustration pulsing through him, Steve slammed an angry fist down on the desk, and then swore under his breath as he headed out onto the Warehouse floor to find where his agents had gone to hide.

* * *

After their confrontation, Steve sent himself to Dubai to collect some artifacts that had been misdirected in the mail. He knew that he could have easily have sent one of his agents, but the tension in the Warehouse was so thick Mary Mallon's butcher knife would have struggled to cut it, and Steve honestly needed the time to clear his head. As it turned out, a damaged box led to the need for Steve to fully engage as an agent, and for a short while his concerns for Claudia were pushed to the back of his mind. He returned to the B&B in the early morning after a few days away, his thoughts finally in some sense of order, but he was slightly surprised to find Claudia dragging a suitcase across the front lawn, the wheels of her bag making tracks in the morning dew. Pulling on the handbrake of his car, Steve scratched absently at his nose for a moment before he exhaled loudly and exited the vehicle. Claudia looked up hesitantly from where she was stashing her suitcase in the trunk of her own car, squinting against the rising sun as she watched Steve amble slowly towards her.

"Where are you off to?" Steve asked softly by way of greeting, sticking his hands in his pockets. Claudia reached up to close her trunk.

"London," she told him, stifling a yawn. "Regent's retreat. They want to talk." She winced at her last words, and Steve made a soft noise in reply. They both stood there, swaying awkwardly while they stared at the ground, and then Claudia kicked at a loose stone with her Converse-clad toe.

"I should probably go," she murmured, waving a hand around absently. "Flight to catch and all."

"Claudia, wait," Steve spoke up, causing the redhead to stop in midstride. She turned slowly, uncertainty evident in her eyes, but when Steve didn't speak straight away, she raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't kidding about the flight, Steve," she quipped, swinging her car key around on her finger. Steve huffed out a breath.

"Claudia, I hope you know that I will always be your friend," he stated, watching as Claudia's face softened at his words. "I'll always be around when you need me."

"Steve, I appreciate that," Claudia murmured, but Steve cut her off with a jerk of his head.

"What I can't do anymore, is stand around and wait for you to figure out what it is you want from me," Steve told her. "I know you're hurting, but the hot and cold attitude... it's hurting me. My heart can only take so much, Claud. So while you're away, I need you to really think about where your head is at, and then you can come back, and let me know, ok? Whatever it is you want, I can do. I really just need to know what it is."

He bit his lip as he paused to stare at her.

"And one last thing. Whatever it is you decide, for your own sake, Claud, you need to leave him behind," Steve said softly. "Colton might be gone, but you're still letting the memory of him run your life. Leave him, and you'll find yourself again."

Claudia's face was a black canvas, and she never blinked as his eyes met hers.

"OK?" Steve finally asked, and Claudia mustered up a half-smile.

"OK," she nodded, and then pointed a thumb over her shoulder at her car.

"I have to go," she murmured, and Steve nodded as he backed up a few paces, wandering back towards his own vehicle as he heard Claudia start the engine of her Prius. He didn't watch her go, but when he caught her taillights disappearing out of the driveway, he finally let out the breath he'd been holding in. His heartbeat was echoing in his ears, and while he was relieved to finally get his feelings out in the open, he wondered if the result would be what his heart still desperately hoped for.


	15. Chapter 15

Life at Warehouse 13 continued to tick along as normal even without Claudia's presence. Endless hours of inventory and maintenance were interspersed with artifact retrievals which ultimately turned into adventures of their own, and Steve often found himself joking and laughing along with Melody and Ethan as they worked and studied together. Steve wasn't sure how long a retreat with the Regents was supposed to last, and there were still regular check-ins from Adwin Kosan and Jane Lattimer, but as a couple of days turned into a couple of weeks, Steve began to wonder if maybe he wasn't being told the whole truth, and that maybe Claudia wasn't coming back at all. Every time he managed to muster up the courage to ask, however, some artifact disturbance pushed its way to the top of the list of priorities. Steve never stopped thinking about Claudia, and he doubted that he'd ever go a day without having her cross his mind, but as had been pointed out to him many times before, the Warehouse never slept, and life carried on. He found himself growing oddly proud of his agents as they genuinely started to excel in the field, like a gloating parent, and again he started to understand Artie's unique link to the Warehouse, and a certain happiness filled him at the thought that one day, he'd share that experience. Almost a month after Claudia had left for London, Steve sent Melody and Ethan out on a snag and bag, and then spent an afternoon in the far reaches of the Warehouse before he decided to call it a day. He was in a genuinely good mood; nothing had exploded, mutated or escaped in over a week, and as he drove back to the B&B he even found himself singing along to the CD Pete had left in the car almost three years before. Still humming under his breath as he loped across the front lawn, Steve let himself into the B&B and then suddenly stopped short when he looked up and found Claudia perched on the first step of the landing, a bemused smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Hey there," she murmured, her nose wrinkling as a slight flush built up in her cheeks.

"Hey yourself," Steve breathed out, not taking his eyes off of her as he gently placed his keys on the side table in the entry way. The Caretaker's hair was longer than he remembered, though a flash of purple was still clearly visible amongst the red strands. Physical appearance aside, there was something else about Claudia that had changed since he'd last seen her, though Steve couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"You wanna sit?" Claudia asked gently, her eyes flicking to the empty space beside her. Heat turned Steve's cheeks crimson, and he slowly moved to the staircase, settling himself a few steps below her, so that he had to look up ever so slightly to meet her gaze.

"Things are going well at the Warehouse," Claudia offered, a statement more than a question, and Steve nodded in reply.

"Two weeks injury free," he quipped with a grin. "It would have been three, but Melody dropped the Acme anvil on Ethan's foot last week, and I'm fairly sure he's got a broken toe."

Claudia chuckled, and Steve suddenly noticed the light in her eyes, and the intense way that she was staring at him. Her smile was genuine for the first time in as long as he could remember. Steve felt his heartbeat start to quicken.

"I'm sorry that I was gone for so long," Claudia said apologetically as she wrinkled her nose. "I think that you and I both know that I had some soul-searching to do."

"You weren't in London the whole time?" Steve asked, a hint of surprise in his tone. Claudia shook her head.

"I went to visit Myka and Pete," she said. "They really do make beautiful babies, by the way. You should try to find the time to go and see Mattie soon."

"I would, you know, but my Caretaker kind of disappeared on me for a month," Steve teased gently, and Claudia rolled her eyes before she continued

"Myka gave me some good advice and all, and you know Pete had something to say, but it was someone very short and incredibly assertive that reminded me of a promise I made," Claudia smiled, reaching for something on the floor beside her. Steve was still grinning at the extremely accurate description of Scout Lattimer when he realised that Claudia was holding a fluffy cat ear headband in her hands. A faint blush formed on her cheeks as she perched the ears on her head.

"You're in need of a new best girl, Steve Jinks," Claudia stated softly. "I was hoping that I was still the prime candidate for the job?"

A hint of a smile ghosted across Steve's lips as he lifted his hand and casually rested it on Claudia's knee, draping his arm across her leg.

"Can you remind me of your qualifications?" he asked gruffly, his eyes twinkling with amusement. Claudia chewed on her lip and she eyed him off for a moment before her face relaxed into a smirk.

"I play a pretty mean guitar solo," she started, the blush in her cheeks deepening as Steve coughed out a chuckle. "I'm a wicked computer hacker, a decent shot with a Tesla, and I know how to get to the farthest corners of the Warehouse in the shortest amount of time."

Steve's grin was a mile wide, but he didn't make any attempt to stop her.

"I'm incredibly close to your boss," Claudia continued with a grin. "Seriously, I could probably talk her into anything you wanted."

Steve laughed as he moved closer to Claudia, and Claudia in return leaned down so that she could lower her voice.

"Steve, I had a pretty rough time last year," she murmured, her smile faltering. "Something bad happened, right here on this staircase. I made some pretty stupid mistakes, and to be honest, I'm still learning from them, and sometimes I wonder if I'll ever really get over them. But I'm going to try, because I want to make you proud of me. I hope you can see that."

Steve watched as Claudia tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She glanced at him, uncertainty mingling with the hopefulness in her eyes.

"You certainly have some very redeeming qualities, Miss Donovan," Steve said with a teasing grin. "Is there anything else you'd like to share?"

Claudia looked down at her lap, and then inched her hand slowly forward until her fingers covered Steve's forearm.

"Steve," she whispered, her voice wavering slightly. "Jinksy. You're my whole world. You always have been. I'm sorry that I ever made you think you weren't."

Steve made sure that he was looking directly at her when Claudia finally lifted her head, her Bambi eyes brimming with tears that were threatening to spill over

"I love you," Claudia told him, her voice cracking as she curled her fingers around Steve's wrist. "I've loved you from the moment I met you, and I want to love you for the rest of my life, if you'll let me."

Steve lifted his hand and softly grazed his fingers down the line of Claudia's jaw.

"You've always been my best girl, Claudia Donovan," he murmured. "I love you." Craning his neck to meet Claudia's head tilt, their lips finally met in the kiss Steve imagined they'd both been waiting for a very long time to share. When they broke apart, Claudia let out a soft chuckle of contentment, and scooted down a step or two so that she could press herself to Steve's side. Steve tucked an arm around her shoulders as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. Claudia pressed her nose into his shoulder, and Steve allowed himself to revel in the warmth of her closeness.

"Our first kiss," Claudia declared softly, her accompanying sigh laced with happiness. Steve screwed up his face at her.

"Not technically," he pointed out hesitantly, and Claudia smacked him in the shoulder.

"You can't count that day in the Warehouse!" she cried in protest. "I was practically comatose!"

Steve chuckled as he cupped her cheek in his hand, stroking his thumb across her cheekbone.

"You were a Sleeping Beauty," he said with fondness, and Claudia rolled her eyes even as she leaned in to kiss him again. She rubbed her fingers absently against the stubble on Steve's cheek as she gave him a shy look.

"I'm not perfect, Steve," she told him softly. "There are going to be days that I might not be the person you want me to be. I'm sorry for that."

Steve leaned his cheek against her hand.

"Claudia, all I've ever wanted you to realise is that I will be here for you, good days, and bad," he stated. "I love you, every single part of you. I'm not going anywhere. I made that mistake before. I won't make it again."

A happy grin tugged on Claudia's lips. Steve didn't think he'd ever seen Claudia blush as much as she had since he'd joined her on the staircase. He lifted a hand and gently removed the cat ears from their perch on her head.

"I can't believe that we were bested by a five year old," Steve said fondly as he twisted the headband around in his fingers. Claudia smirked.

"Scout's smarter than the pair of us combined," she quipped. "You can't say it's such a big surprise."

Steve chuckled as he nodded his agreement, but he was more focused on the way Claudia's eyes shone. Her unbridled happiness was causing butterflies to dance in his stomach.

"Hey Claud?" he asked softly, and Claudia made a contented humming noise as she glanced back towards him.

"Can I kiss you again?" he requested, and Claudia responded by leaning her face towards his. Their lips had barely met, however, before the front door of the B&B burst open, and Melody and Ethan stumbled in, already fighting over the bag of Mexican takeout that Ethan carried in his hand. Their argument petered out very quickly when they registered Steve and Claudia's embrace.

"Oh my God, about freakin time," Ethan commented loudly, catching the fist Melody swung toward him in his free hand. "Does this mean you two have finally gotten over your little daytime drama?"

"We really need to teach you about respecting your superiors," Claudia drawled snarkily. Ethan smirked back at her, a silent dare for her to proceed with her threat. Claudia rolled her eyes even as she rested her cheek against Steve's shoulder. Steve was momentarily distracted by the way Claudia fit so perfectly against him.

"I'm sorry that my partner has all the tact of a sledgehammer," Melody sneered, glaring at Ethan as she snatched the takeout bag out of his hand. "What he means is that we're both very happy for you."

"Thanks for translating, Mom," Ethan quipped dryly, and Melody stuck her tongue out at him before she stalked off towards the kitchen. Ethan chased after her, calling out his claim on the burritos in the bag. Steve laced his fingers with Claudia's.

"How did we end up with Pete and Myka 2.0?" he asked with a small smirk. Claudia gave his hand a squeeze.

"I think the Warehouse brings us the people we need," she murmured absently. "All that comes from fighting that is heartache."

"So no more fighting?" Steve whispered, turning his head so that their noses were touching.

"All I know for sure is that the Warehouse knew I loved you long before I did," Claudia replied, "so from now on, when the Warehouse talks, I'm going to listen."

"What's the Warehouse telling you right now?" Steve asked, and Claudia grinned.

"That I should kiss you again," she murmured teasingly, and Steve chuckled.

"I think you should definitely listen to that advice," he said in a low voice, and Claudia made a soft noise before she obliged. Steve still couldn't quite believe that they were actually kissing, and he pulled away so that he could cup Claudia's face in her hands. Claudia squinted at him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I just wanted to make sure that this is real," Steve admitted shyly, and Claudia laughed as she quickly pecked Steve on the lips again before she got to her feet.

"Where are we going?" Steve asked, accepting her outstretched hands. Claudia gave him a playful look.

"The kitchen," she smirked. "I heard the word burrito."

Steve laughed as he let her troop down the stairs ahead of him, smiling goofily at her retreating back. She stopped at the foot of the stairs and winked at him before she headed for the kitchen, and Steve shook his head in fond amusement. He was in love with Claudia Donovan, and finally, she'd come back to him, and he was absolutely beside himself with joy. Best friend, other half, love of his life... when it all was said and done, Claudia was all those things and more, and Steve couldn't even began to imagine that he'd ever need anything else, so long as she loved him, and she always stayed by his side.

* * *

 **A/N: The end. To those of you that stuck it out... thank you. Reviews welcome xo**


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